''Commersonia'' is a genus of twenty-five species of flowering plants in 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 Theobroma cacao, cacao, Cola (plant), cola, cotton, okra, Hibiscus sabdariffa, ...

. Plants in this genus are shrubs or trees, occurring from Indochina to Australia and have stems, leaves and flowers covered with star-like hairs. The leaves are

simple Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: *Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple Arts and entertainment * ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track * "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018 * "Simple", a song by John ...

, often with irregularly-toothed edges, the flowers

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

with five

sepal 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 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s, five petals and five

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s and the fruit a capsule with five

valves A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings, ...

. The genus underwent a revision in 2011 and some species were separated from ''Commersonia'', others were added from ''Rulingia''.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Coommersonia'' was first formally described in 1775 by

Johann Reinhold Forster Johann Reinhold Forster (; 22 October 1729 – 9 December 1798) was a German Reformed pastor and naturalist. Born in Tczew, Dirschau, Pomeranian Voivodeship (1466–1772), Pomeranian Voivodeship, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (now Tczew, Po ...

and his son

Georg Forster Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (; 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German geography, geographer, natural history, naturalist, ethnology, ethnologist, travel literature, travel writer, journalist and revol ...

in the book ''

Characteres generum plantarum ''Characteres generum plantarum'' (complete title , "Characteristics of the types of plants collected, described, and delineated during a voyage to islands of the South Seas, in the years 1772–1775 by Johann Reinhold Forster and Georg Forster ...

'' and the first species they described was ''Commersonia echinata'', now known as '' Commersonia bartramia''. A revision of the genus in 2011 added 3 newly described species, as well as 14 species previously included in '' Rulingia'', and transferred a number of species to the newly created genus '' Androcalva''. The genus is named after

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. ...

(1727–73), a French naturalist who sailed with the Bougainville expedition in 1766 and died on

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

Species list

The following is a list of species of ''Commersonia'' accepted by

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

as at December 2020: *'' Commersonia amystia'' C.F.Wilkins & L.M.Copel. (New South Wales) *'' Commersonia apella'' C.F.Wilkins (Western Australia) – many-flowered commersonia *'' Commersonia bartramia'' ( L.) Merr. (Southeast Asia, eastern Australia) – brown kurrajong *'' Commersonia borealis'' (E.Pritz.) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Western Australia) *'' Commersonia breviseta'' C.F.Wilkins & L.M.Copel. (eastern Australia) *'' Commersonia corniculata'' (Sm.) K.A.Sheph. & C.F.Wilkins (Western Australia) *'' Commersonia corylifolia'' ( Graham) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Western Australia) – hazel-leaved rulingia *'' Commersonia craurophylla'' (

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria (state), Vic ...

) F.Muell. (Western Australia) – brittle leaved rulingia *'' Commersonia dasyphylla'' Andrews (eastern Australia) – kerrawang *'' Commersonia densiflora'' ( Turcz.) F.Muell. (Western Australia) *'' Commersonia erythrogyna'' C.F.Wilkins (Western Australia) – Trigwell's rulingia *'' Commersonia gilva'' C.F.Wilkins (Western Australia) – golden commersonia *'' Commersonia grandiflora'' ( Endl.) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Western Australia) *'' Commersonia hermanniifolia'' J.Gay ex

Kunth Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850) was a German botanist. He was also known as Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth. He was one of the early systematic botanists who focused on studying the plants of th ...

(New South Wales) – wrinkled kerrawang *'' Commersonia macrostipulata'' Guymer (Queensland) *'' Commersonia madagascariensis'' (

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Madagascar) *'' Commersonia magniflora'' (F.Muell.) F.Muell. (Northern Territory, South Australia) *'' Commersonia novoguinensis'' ( Gilli) Guymer (New Guinea) *'' Commersonia obliqua'' Guymer (Vanuatu) *'' Commersonia parviflora'' (Endl.) F.Muell. (Western Australia) – small flowered rulingia *'' Commersonia prostrata'' (

Maiden Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

& Betche) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (New South Wales, Victoria) – dwarf kerrawang *'' Commersonia rotundifolia'' (Turcz.) F.Muell. (Western Australia) – round-leaved rulingia *'' Commersonia rugosa'' ( Steetz) F.Muell. (New South Wales, Victoria) *'' Commersonia salviifolia'' ( Hook. ex Steetz) F.Muell. (Queensland, New South Wales) *'' Commersonia tahitensis'' ( Dorr) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Society Islands)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2704549 Malvaceae genera