''Commersonia prostrata'', commonly known as dwarf kerrawang, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and endemic to eastern continental Australia. It is a prostrate shrub with trailing branches, egg-shaped leaves, the lower surface densely covered with star-like hairs, white, petal-like sepals, and smaller, pinkish petals.

Description

''Commersonia prostrata'' is a prostrate shrub that has branches up to or more long, and forms dense mats up to high. The leaves are egg-shaped to heart-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long, with egg-shaped stipules long at the base. The edges of the leaves have irregular, rounded teeth, the upper surface of the leaves is glabrous and the lower surface densely covered with star-shaped hairs. The flowers are arranged opposite leaf axils, usually in groups of 3 to 12, 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 a pedicel long. The flowers are up to in diameter and have five white, petal-like sepals long and wide, and five pink and cream-coloured petals with a narrow

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 ...

about half as long as the sepals. There is a white, densely hairy

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 September to November and the fruit is a bristly capsule in diameter.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1898 by Joseph Maiden and

Ernst Betche Daniel Ludwig Ernst Betche (31 December 1851, in Potsdam – 28 June 1913, in Sydney) was a German-Australian horticulturist and botanist. His mother died at his birth and he was of delicate constitution all his life. His father was sufficiently ...

who gave it the name ''Rulingia prostrata'' in the '' Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales'' from specimens Maiden collected near Barbers Creek, between Moss Vale and Goulburn in the same year. In 2011, Carolyn Wilkins and

Barbara Whitlock Barbara may refer to: People * Barbara (given name) * Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter * Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer * Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously as ...

transferred the species to the genus '' Commersonia'' as ''C. prostrata'' in the journal '' Australian Systematic Botany''. 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 ...

(''prostrata'') means "lying along the ground".

Distribution and habitat

Dwarf kerrawang grows in open woodland and near the edge of forest and is known from populations on the Southern Highlands and Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, the largest population in the Thirlmere Lakes area, and in a few near-coastal areas of south-eastern Victoria.

Conservation status

''Commersonia prostrata'' is listed as "endangered" under the Australian Government '' Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'', the New South Wales Government '' Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016'' and the Victorian Government '' Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17580230 prostrata Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) Plants described in 1898 Taxa named by Joseph Maiden Taxa named by Ernst Betche