Comesperma

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

Genus of flowering plants

title: "Comesperma" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["comesperma", "polygalaceae-genera", "endemic-flora-of-australia", "plants-described-in-1806", "taxa-named-by-jacques-labillardière"] description: "Genus of flowering plants" topic_path: "geography/australia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comesperma" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of flowering plants ::

|image = Comesperma ericinum.JPG |image_caption = Comesperma ericinum |display_parents = 2 |taxon = Comesperma |authority = Labill. (1806) |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = 38; see text |subdivision_ref =

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. 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, where 19 species are found. 24 species have been described.

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. 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.

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. especially of floriferous species such as Comesperma ericinum.

Comesperma ericinum and C. volubile are sometimes seen in cultivation.

Species

38 species are accepted.

References

References

  1. [https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:32334-1 ''Comesperma'' Labill.] ''[[Plants of the World Online]]''. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  2. {{APNI
  3. Labillardiere, J.J.H. de. (1806). "Diadelphia. Octandria". Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen.
  4. (1984). "Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation:Volume 3 - Ce-Er". Lothian Press.
  5. Margaret G. Corrick. (2009). "Wildflowers of Southern Western Australia". Rosenberg Publishing.
  6. "Comesperma". Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust.
  7. Steenis, C. G. van. (1968). "Notes on ''Bredemeyera'' (''Comesperma'') with a new Papuan Species and the Australian species listed (PolygaIaceae)". Acta Botanica Neerlandica.
  8. Eriksen, Bente. (1993). "Floral anatomy and morphology in the Polygalaceae". Plant Systematics and Evolution.
  9. (2000). "Native Plants of the Sydney District: An Identification Guide". Kangaroo Press.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

comespermapolygalaceae-generaendemic-flora-of-australiaplants-described-in-1806taxa-named-by-jacques-labillardière