Commersonia obliqua is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to Vanuatu. It is a shrub or tree with lance-shaped leaves and white flowers.
| Commersonia obliqua | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Genus: | Commersonia |
| Species: | C. obliqua
|
| Binomial name | |
| Commersonia obliqua | |
Description
editCommersonia obliqua is a shrub or tree that typically grows to a height of 3–15 m (9.8–49.2 ft), its branchlets covered with soft, star-shaped hairs. The leaves are lance-shaped, 50–177 mm (2.0–7.0 in) long and 18–62 mm (0.71–2.44 in) wide on a petiole 4.0–11.5 mm (0.16–0.45 in) long with narrowly triangular stipules 2.6–6 mm (0.10–0.24 in) long at the base. The flowers are 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) in diameter with five petal-like sepals, the lobes broadly egg-shaped, 1.3–2.0 mm (0.051–0.079 in) long, and five petals 2.5–3.3 mm (0.098–0.130 in) long with a ligule 1.7–2.0 mm (0.067–0.079 in) long on the end. Flowering occurs from April to September and the fruit is a bristly capsule 27–32 mm (1.1–1.3 in) in diameter.[2]
Taxonomy
editCommersonia obliqua was first formally described in 2005 by Gordon P. Guymer in the journal Austrobaileya from specimens collected near Undine Bay in 1928.[1][2] The specific epithet (obliqua) refers to the oblique leaf bases.[2]
Distribution and habitat
editThis commersonia grows in tropical lowland rainforest in Vanuatu.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b "Commersonia novoguinensis". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d Guymer, Gordon P. (2005). "New species of Commersonia J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. (Sterculiaceae) from eastern Australia and Vanuatu". Austrobaileya. 7 (1): 239. Retrieved 3 April 2023.