Commersonia is a genus of twenty-five species of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae. 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, often with irregularly-toothed edges, the flowers bisexual with five sepals, five petals and five stamens and the fruit a capsule with five valves. The genus underwent a revision in 2011 and some species were separated from Commersonia, others were added from Rulingia.[2][3][4][5]

Commersonia
Commersonia bartramia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Subfamily: Byttnerioideae
Tribe: Lasiopetaleae
Genus: Commersonia
J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.[1]
Species

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Synonyms[1]

Taxonomy

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The genus Coommersonia was first formally described in 1775 by Johann Reinhold Forster and his son Georg Forster in the book Characteres generum plantarum and the first species they described was Commersonia echinata, now known as Commersonia bartramia.[6][7]

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.[8]

The genus is named after Philibert Commerson (1727–73), a French naturalist who sailed with the Bougainville expedition in 1766 and died on Mauritius.[2]

Species list

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The following is a list of species of Commersonia accepted by Plants of the World Online as at December 2020:[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Commersonia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Commersonia". State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  3. ^ Short, Philip Sydney. "Commersonia". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Commersonia". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  5. ^ Conn, Barry J. "Commersonia". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Commersonia". APNI. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  7. ^ Forster, Johann R. (1775). Characteres generum plantarum. London: Prostant apud B. White, T. Cadell, & P. Elmsly,1776. pp. 43–44. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  8. ^ Wilkins, C. F.; Whitlock, B. A. (2011). "A revision of Commersonia including Rulingia (Malvaceae s.l. or Byttneriaceae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 24 (5): 226. doi:10.1071/SB10031. ISSN 1030-1887.
  9. ^ "Commersonia". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 10 December 2020.