Kingdom Plantae Family Malvaceae Scientific name Commersonia fraseri | Order Malvales Genus Commersonia Rank Species | |
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Similar Commersonia, Androcalva, Acronychia oblongifolia, Rulingia, Cinnamomum oliveri | ||
Commersonia fraseri, commonly known as Blackfellow's Hemp or Brush Kurrajong is a common shrub or small tree of the mallow family found in eastern Australia. Growing up to 8 metres tall, it is found in rainforest margins and in wet eucalyptus forests.
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Taxonomy
The French naturalist Jacques Etienne Gay was the first to name the species, in 1823. The genus is named after the French naturalist Philibert Commerson, and the species name honours the colonial botanist of New South Wales Charles Fraser. Vernacular names include brush kurrajong and blackfellows hemp.
A 2011 molecular analysis of segments of chloroplast DNA found that the genera Commersonia and Rulingia formed a monophyletic group but that the member species were intermingled, and split out into two hitherto unrecognised clades. C. fraseri belongs to a clade which has been reclassified as a new genus Androcalva, and hence its new binomial name is Androcalva fraseri.
Description
Commersonia fraseri grows as a 2 or 3 m (6.6 or 9.8 ft) shrub, or small tree to 8 m (26 ft) high. Arranged alternately along the stems, the ovate leaves have irregularly toothed margins and are 5–17 cm (2.0–6.7 in) long and 2–7 cm (0.79–2.76 in) wide. The leaf undersides are whitish, and covered in a fine fur. Flowering peaks in September and continues till November. The small white flowers are arranged in clusters. Flowering is followed by the development of fruit, 1.5 to 2.5 cm (0.59 to 0.98 in) long.
Distribution and habitat
Commersonia fraseri is found in rainforest and wet eucalypt forest along and east of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales and southeastern Queensland. In the latter habitat, it is associated with trees such as rough-barked apple (Angophora floribunda), turpentine (Syncarpia glomulifera), and Sydney blue gum (Eucalyptus saligna). A fast-growing plant, it is able to colonise disturbed ground, particularly areas where vegetation has been partly cleared such as under power lines.
It is an adult host plant for the chrysomelid beetle Podagra submetallica.
Cultivation
Commersonia fraseri has been propagated readily from cuttings taken in winter, and grows better with extra moisture in cultivation.