Comesperma

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Fabales

Familia: Polygalaceae
Tribus: Polygaleae
Genus: Comesperma
Species: C. spinosum – C. volubilis
Name

Comesperma Labill.
References

USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Comesperma in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.

Comesperma is a genus of shrubs, herbs and lianas in the family Polygalaceae. The genus is endemic to Australia. It was defined by the French botanist Jacques Labillardière in his 1806 work Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen.[1][2] The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek words come ("hair") and sperma ("seed"), and relates to the seeds bearing tufts of hair. The genus is distributed over southern Australia, particularly in the southwest of Western Australia,[3] where 19 species are found.[4] 24 species have been described.[5]

The genus was classified in the tribe Polygaleae by Swiss botanist Robert Hippolyte Chodat in 1896. It was also considered a section of the genus Bredemeyera by van Steenis in 1968.[6] This was not adopted widely, and a cladistic study based on morphology published in 1993 suggested they remain as separate genera. This analysis placed Comersperma basal to a group comprising the genera Polygala, Monnina subg. Monninopsis, Nylandtia, Muralita and Epirixanthes.[7]

They are generally small shrubs, climbers or trailing plants, with small to vestigial leaves arranged alternately on the stem. The flowers resemble those of pea-flowers, and are borne in racemes. They are generally pink through shades of purple to blue in colour, although yellow-flowered species are known.[3] Although the flowers are smaller than those of the related genus Polygala, the racemes can be showy,[8] especially of floriferous species such as Comesperma ericinum.[3]

Comesperma ericinum and C. volubile are sometimes seen in cultivation.[3]
Species

Comesperma acerosum Steetz
Comesperma aphyllum Benth.
Comesperma breviflorum Pedley
Comesperma calcicola Keighery
Comesperma calymega Labill. - blue-spike milkwort
Comesperma ciliatum Steetz
Comesperma confertum Labill.
Comesperma defoliatum F.Muell.
Comesperma drummondii Steetz - Drummond's milkwort
Comesperma ericinum DC. - pyramid flower, heath milkwort
Comesperma esulifolium (Gand.) Prain
Comesperma flavum DC.
Comesperma griffinii Keighery
Comesperma hispidulum Pedley
Comesperma integerrimum Endl.
Comesperma lanceolatum Benth.
Comesperma nudiusculum DC.
Comesperma oblongatum (Benth.)
Comesperma pallidum Pedley
Comesperma patentifolium F.Muell.
Comesperma polygaloides F.Muell. - small milkwort
Comesperma praecelsum F.Muell.
Comesperma retusum Labill.
Comesperma rhadinocarpum F.Muell. - slender-fruited comesperma
Comesperma scoparium J.Drumm. - broom milkwort
Comesperma secundum DC.
Comesperma sphaerocarpum Steetz
Comesperma spinosum F.Muell. - spiny milkwort
Comesperma sylvestre Lindl.
Comesperma virgatum Labill. - milkwort
Comesperma viscidulum F.Muell.
Comesperma volubile Labill. - love creeper
Comesperma xanthocarpum Steud.

References

"Comesperma Labill". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
Labillardiere, J.J.H. de (1806). "Diadelphia. Octandria". Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen. 2 (16): 21, t. 159.
Elliot RW, Jones DL, Blake T (1984). Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation:Volume 3 - Ce-Er. Port Melbourne: Lothian Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-85091-167-1.
Margaret G. Corrick; Bruce Fuhrer (2009). Wildflowers of Southern Western Australia. Kenthurst, New South Wales: Rosenberg Publishing. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-877058-84-4.
"Comesperma". PlantNET - New South Wales Flora Online. Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
Steenis, C. G. van (1968). "Notes on Bredemeyera (Comesperma) with a new Papuan Species and the Australian species listed (PolygaIaceae)". Acta Botanica Neerlandica. 17 (5): 377–84. doi:10.1111/j.1438-8677.1968.tb00142.x.
Eriksen, Bente (1993). "Floral anatomy and morphology in the Polygalaceae". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 186 (1–2): 33–55. doi:10.1007/bf00937712. S2CID 32590790.
Fairley A, Moore P (2000). Native Plants of the Sydney District: An Identification Guide (2nd ed.). Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press. p. 245. ISBN 978-0-7318-1031-4.