''Crowea saligna'', commonly known as willow-leaved crowea, is a plant in the rue

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Derm ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to eastern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is a small shrub with attractive, pink, star-shaped flowers and is commonly cultivated.

Description

''Crowea saligna'' is a small

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

usually growing to a height of about with conspicuously angled branches. The leaves are , wide and are narrow elliptic to lance-shaped. They are also dark green, shiny, dotted with oil glands and there is a distinct mid-vein. The flowers develop in the axils of leaves on a stalk 5-13 millimetres (<1/2 inch) long. There are 5 short, broad

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s and 5 overlapping

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s forming a "star" shape. The petals are pink, sometimes white and are 12-18 millimetres (1/2-1 inch) long. The

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s are hairy and enclose the centre of the flower. The flowers appear from January to June and the fruits that follow are dry and have 5 compartments which open to release 2 seeds each.

Taxonomy and naming

''Crowea saligna'' was first formally described in 1800 by

Henry Cranke Andrews Henry Cranke Andrews (floruit, fl. 1794 – 1830), was an English botanist, botanical artist and engraver. As he always published as Henry C. Andrews, and due to difficulty finding records, the C. was often referred to as Charles, until a reco ...

. The description was published in ''The Botanist's Repository for New, and Rare Plants''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''saligna'') is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning " of willow".

Distribution and habitat

Willow-leaved crowea occurs in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

between

Woy Woy Woy Woy is a coastal town in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the southern reaches of Brisbane Water north of Sydney. It is a population centre within the local government area. Woy Woy is located in the nor ...

and

Yerrinbool Yerrinbool is a Northern Village of the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire, and is accessible from the Hume Highway (via Bargo or Alpine) and is about a drive from nearby Mittagong. It is to Hill To ...

and on the adjacent Blue Mountains. It grows in sheltered locations on sandstone.

Use in horticulture

''Crowea saligna'' is widely cultivated due to its attractive flowers that appear when most other species are dormant. It prefers a well-drained position in sun or semi shade. It grows best in moist soils but will tolerate extended dry periods once established.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3005458 Flora of New South Wales Sapindales of Australia Plants described in 1800 Zanthoxyloideae Taxa named by Henry Cranke Andrews