''Commersonia macrostipulata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a shrub or tree with egg-shaped leaves that are slightly serrated on the edges, flowers with five cream-coloured to white sepals and bristly fruit.

Description

''Commersonia macrostipulata'' is a shrub or tree that typically grows to a height of , its new growth covered with star-shaped hairs. The leaves are egg-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long with egg-shaped stipules long at the base. The base of the leaf is often heart-shaped, the edges of the leaves are slightly serrated, and the lower surface is covered with velvety hairs. The flowers are and in diameter and arranged in heads of 50 to 200, the groups on a

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

long, each flower on pedicel long. The petal-like sepals are white and joined at the base. The petals are white with 3 lobes, the middle lobe erect, the

ligule A ligule (from "strap", variant of ''lingula'', from ''lingua'' "tongue") is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf and leafstalk of many grasses (Poaceae) and sedges. A ligule is also a strap-shaped extension of the corolla, such as that of a ...

s densely hairy, and there is a single three-lobed

staminode In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. ...

between each pair of

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s. Flowering occurs from August to December and the fruit is a spherical capsule in diameter and densely bristly.

Taxonomy

''Commersonia macrostipulata'' was first formally described in 2006 by

Gordon P. Guymer Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordo ...

in the journal '' Austrobaileya'' from specimens collected from the Rex Range in

Mowbray National Park Mowbray is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1441 km northwest of Brisbane. The park forms part of the Wooroonooran Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports populations of a range of bi ...

in 2005. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''macrostipulata'') means "large stipules".

Distribution and habitat

''Commersonia macrostipulata'' grows in, or on the edges of rainforest, at altitudes of up to from Isabella Falls near Cooktown, to near Tully.

Conservation status

This commersonia is listed as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government '' Nature Conservation Act 1992''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15363075 macrostipulata Flora of Queensland Plants described in 2006