Commersonia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids II
Ordo: Malvales

Familia: Malvaceae
Subfamilia: Byttnerioideae
Tribus: Lasiopetaleae
Genus: Commersonia
Species: C. amystia – C. apella – C. bartramia – C. borealis – C. breviseta – C. corniculata – C. corylifolia – C. craurophylla – C. dasyphylla – C. densiflora – C. erythrogyna – C. gilva – C. grandiflora – C. hermanniifolia – C. macrostipulata – C. madagascariensis – C. magniflora – C. novoguinensis – C. obliqua – C. parviflora – C. prostrata – C. rotundifolia – C. rugosa – C. salviifolia – C. tahitensis
Name

Commersonia J.R.Forst. & Forster, J.G.A., Char. Gen. Pl., ed. 2. 43 (1776)

Type species: Commersonia bartramia (L.) Merr., Interpr. Herb. Amboin. 362. (1917) originally designated as synonym Commersonia echinata J.R. Forst. & G. Forst. (1775) nom. illeg.

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Rulingia R.Br., Bot. Mag. 48: t. 2191. (1820), nom. cons.
Achilleopsis Turcz., Bull. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou 22(2): 9. (1849)
Pimia Seem., Bonplandia 10: 366. (1862)
Commerconia F.Muell., Fragm. 11: 113. (1881) sphalm., in obs.
Restiaria Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 1: 81. (1891) nom. illeg. non Lour. (1790).
Disaster Gilli, Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien 83: 454. (1980)

References

Forster, J.R. & Forster, J.G. 1776. Characteres Generum Plantarum Edn. 1.: 43, t. 22.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Commersonia in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Dec. 21. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Commersonia. Published online. Accessed: Dec. 21 2020.
Tropicos.org 2020. Commersonia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Dec. 21.
Wilkins, C. F. & Whitlock, B. A. 2011. A new Australian genus, Androcalva, separated from Commersonia (Malvaceae s.l. or Byttneriaceae). Australian Systematic Botany 24: 284-349. DOI: 10.1071/SB10032 Paywall Reference page.
Wilkins, C.F. & Whitlock, B.A. 2012. Corrigendum to: A revision of Commersonia including Rulingia (Malvaceae s.l. or Byttneriaceae). Australian Systematic Botany 25: 81-81. DOI: 10.1071/SB10031_CO Paywall Reference page.

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]

Taxonomy

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

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

Commersonia amystia C.F.Wilkins & L.M.Copel. (New South Wales)
Commersonia apella C.F.Wilkins (Western Australia)
Commersonia bartramia (L.) Merr. (Southeast Asia, eastern Australia)
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)
Commersonia craurophylla (F.Muell.) F.Muell. (Western Australia)
Commersonia dasyphylla Andrews (eastern Australia)
Commersonia densiflora (Turcz.) F.Muell. (Western Australia)
Commersonia erythrogyna C.F.Wilkins (Western Australia)
Commersonia gilva C.F.Wilkins (Western Australia)
Commersonia grandiflora (Endl.) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (Western Australia)
Commersonia hermanniifolia J.Gay ex Kunth (New South Wales)
Commersonia macrostipulata Guymer (Queensland)
Commersonia madagascariensis (Baker) 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, Fiji)
Commersonia parviflora (Endl.) F.Muell. (Western Australia)
Commersonia prostrata (Maiden & Betche) C.F.Wilkins & Whitlock (New South Wales, Victoria)
Commersonia rotundifolia (Turcz.) F.Muell. (Western Australia)
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

"Commersonia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
"Commersonia". State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
Short, Philip Sydney. "Commersonia". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
"Commersonia". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
Conn, Barry J. "Commersonia". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
"Commersonia". APNI. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
Forster, Johann R. (1775). Characteres generum plantarum. London: Prostant apud B. White, T. Cadell, & P. Elmsly,1776. pp. 43–44. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
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.
"Commersonia". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 10 December 2020.