''Correa decumbens'', commonly known as the spreading correa, is a species of prostrate to spreading shrub that 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 South Australia. It has narrow oblong to narrow elliptical leaves and narrow cylindrical, pink to red flowers with green lobes.

Description

''Correa decumbens'' is a prostrate to spreading shrub that typically grow to a height of with its branchlets covered with reddish brown hairs. The leaves are narrow oblong to narrow elliptical, mostly long and wide on a petiole long. The upper surface of the leaves is glabrous and the lower surface is covered with woolly, rust-coloured hairs. The flowers are usually arranged singly on the ends of short side shoots on

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

long with linear to spatula-shaped

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s at the base. The calyx is hemispherical to cup-shaped, long and hairy, with eight linear lobes long. The corolla is narrow cylindrical, pink to red with four green lobes, long. The eight

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 extend well beyond the end of the corolla. Flowering occurs between November and February as well from April to August in the species' native range.

Taxonomy

''Correa decumbens'' was first formally described in 1855 by botanist

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 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 Vict ...

in ''Transactions and Proceedings of the Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science'' from plants growing "on the cataracts towards Mount Lofty, and on the banks of the Onkaparinga in South Australia".

Distribution and habitat

Spreading correa occurs on the southern

Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and ...

where it grows in forest dominated by

stringybark A stringybark can be any of the many ''Eucalyptus'' species which have thick, fibrous bark. Like all eucalypts, stringybarks belong to the family Myrtaceae. In exceptionally fertile locations some stringybark species (in particular messmate strin ...

and on Kangaroo Island where it grows in forest dominated by sugar gum (''

Eucalyptus cladocalyx ''Eucalyptus cladocalyx'', commonly known as sugar gum, is a species of eucalypt tree found in the Australian state of South Australia. It is found naturally in three distinct populations - in the Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula and on Kangar ...

'').

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5172740 decumbens Flora of South Australia Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Plants described in 1855