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''Commersonia dasyphylla'', commonly known as kerrawang, is a species of flowering plant of the family
image of the kerrawang
among other plants at Australian-Insects.com {{Taxonbar, from=Q7379068 dasyphylla Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (Australia) Taxa named by Henry Cranke Andrews Plants described in 1810
''Commersonia dasyphylla'', commonly known as kerrawang, is a species of flowering plant of the family Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...
and is endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to eastern continental Australia. It is a shrub with egg-shaped to lance-shaped with irregular edges and flowers in groups of up to 21, followed by hairy brown capsules.
Description
Kerrawang grows as a shrub reaching in height with its stems covered in fine hairs. The dark green leaves are prominently wrinkled, egg-shaped to lance-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long, and have toothed or lobed margins. The upper surface of the leaves is hairy and the lower surface is densely covered with white, star-shaped hairs. The flowers are arranged in groups of ten to twenty-one, each flower about in diameter. Thesepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...
s are long and wide, the petals pinkish or white and about half as long as the sepals. Flowering occurs from September to January and the flowers are followed by hairy brown capsules in diameter.
''Commersonia dasyphylla'' is very similar to '' C. breviseta'' and '' C. rugosa'' and is difficult to distinguish without fruit, other than from the structure of the star-shaped flowers on the lower leaf surface.
Taxonomy
''Commersonia dasyphylla'' was initially described in 1810 by Henry Cranke Andrews in his book ''The Botanist's Repository for New, and Rare Plants''. It was then placed in the genus ''Rulingia
''Rulingia '' is a genus of flowering plants native to Australia and Madagascar. In 2011, all species were transferred to ''Commersonia'' with the exception of ''Rulingia cuneata'', ''R. loxophylla'', ''R.luteiflora'' and ''R. procumbens'' which ...
'' by Robert Sweet in 1826 where it remained until its original name was restored in 2011. The genus name commemorates 18th-century French naturalist Philibert Commerson
Philibert Commerson (; 18 November 1727 – 14 March 1773), sometimes spelled Commerçon by contemporaries, was a French naturalist, best known for accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of circumnavigation in 1766–1769.
...
, while the species name is derived from Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
''dasys'' "hairy" and ''phyllon'' "leaf", and refers to cottonlike hairs covering the leaves.
Range and ecology
The range is across eastern Australia from southeasternQueensland
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, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
through New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and into eastern Victoria, the preferred habitat is gullies in forested areas. Flies are the likely most common pollinators, and native bees, beetles, and diurnal moths may do so as well. The kerrawang is killed by bushfire and regenerates from seed.
Conservation status
In Victoria, the species is listed as "threatened" under the ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988
The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'', also known as the ''FFG Act'', is an act of the Victorian Government designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Au ...
'' and "vulnerable" on the Department of Sustainability and Environment's ''Advisory List of Rare Or Threatened Plants in Victoria''.
Uses
Its fibres were used for basket making by the localCadigal
The Cadigal, also spelled as Gadigal and Caddiegal, are a group of Indigenous people whose traditional lands are located in Gadi, on Eora country, the location of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The Gadigal originally inhabited the area that ...
people of Sydney. The kerrawang, an Australian shrub, should not be confused with the kurrajong, an Australian tree whose bark is used to make twine.
First cultivated in England in 1819 as ''Rulingia pannosa'', the kerrawang is a fast-growing and ornamental shrub. It prefers semishaded areas with fair drainage and mildly acid soil. It seeds readily, and can be easily propagated from seed or cuttings.
References
External links
* Aimage of the kerrawang
among other plants at Australian-Insects.com {{Taxonbar, from=Q7379068 dasyphylla Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (Australia) Taxa named by Henry Cranke Andrews Plants described in 1810