Milkwort
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Polygalaceae
Genus: Comesperma
Species:
C. retusum
Binomial name
Comesperma retusum

Comesperma retusum, commonly known as milkwort,[2] is a slender herb in the family Polygalaceae. It is an upright shrub with purple or mauve-pink pea-like flowers and grows in eastern Australia.

Description

Comesperma retusum is a small, upright, leafy shrub to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) high and sparsely branched with more or less, pinkish warty stems. The leaves are elliptic to oblong-shaped, thick, 5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in) long, 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) wide and blunt or with a small point at the apex. The flowers are in a terminal raceme up to 1 cm (0.39 in) long, occasionally on short branches near the end of stems and the pedicels 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) long. The purple or mauve-pink flowers are pea-like, 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) long, outer sepals free, 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long, wing sepals usually 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) long and the lateral petals equal in length as the yellow-tipped keel. Flowering occurs from November to January and the fruit is a flattened, elongated capsule 9–12 mm (0.35–0.47 in) long.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy and naming

Comesperma retusum was first formally described in 1806 by Jacques Labillardière and the description was published in Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen.[5][6] The specific epithet (retusum) refers to the leaf apex.[7]

Distribution and habitat

Milkwort grows in bogs and swamps in montane, subalpine locations and occasionally coastal swamps in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.[2][4]

References

  1. ↑ "Commesperma retusum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Comesperma retusum". VICFLORA-Flora of Victoria. Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  3. ↑ Cosgrove, Meredith (2014). Photographic Guide to Native Plants of the Australian Capital Territory. Meadow Argus. p. 291. ISBN 9780994183408.
  4. 1 2 Murray, L. "Comesperma retusum". PlantNET-NSW flora online. Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  5. ↑ "Comesperma retusum". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  6. ↑ Labillardière, Jacques (1806). Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen (2 ed.). Paris. p. 22.
  7. ↑ George, A.S; Sharr, F.A (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and their meanings (4th ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables. p. 303. ISBN 9780958034197.
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