''Correa lawrenceana'', commonly known as mountain correa, is a species of shrub or small tree of the family Rutaceae 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 Australia. It has elliptical to egg-shaped leaves arranged in opposite pairs and cylindrical, greenish yellow to red flowers usually arranged singly or in groups of up to seven in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s with 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 protruding beyond the end of the corolla.

Description

''Correa lawrenceana'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of , sometimes a tree to , and has branchlets covered with rusty hairs. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, elliptical to egg-shaped, long and wide on a petiole up to long. The flowers are arranged singly or in groups of up to seven in leaf axils, rarely on the ends of branchlets, each flower on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long. The calyx is hemispherical to cup-shaped, long and wide. The corolla is cylindrical, greenish yellow to red with a scaly to velvety surface, long with four short lobes on the end. The stamens project well beyond the end of the corolla. Flowering occurs in spring and sporadically at other times.

Taxonomy

This species was first described in 1834 by English botanist

William Jackson Hooker Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he ...

who gave it the name ''Correa lawrenciana'' and published the description in his journal, ''The Journal of Botany''. The specific epithet honours Tasmanian botanist

Robert William Lawrence Robert William Lawrence (1807–1833), first-born son of William Effingham Lawrence, was born and educated in England. In 1825 he arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) (per the Elizabeth). He became acquainted with Sir William Jackson Hook ...

(1807-1833) who, together with

Ronald Gunn Ronald Campbell Gunn, FRS, (4 April 1808 – 13 March 1881) was a South African-born Australian botanist and politician. Early life Gunn was born at Cape Town, Cape Colony, (now South Africa), the son of William Gunn, lieutenant in the Britis ...

, collected the plant material sent to Hooker. In 1998, Paul Wilson corrected the name to ''Correa lawrenceana'' to conform to the Tokyo Code. A subgenus of ''Correa'' (''Correa'' subgenus ''Persistens'' Othman, Duretto and G.J. Jord.) was formally described in 2011 comprising two species, ''C. lawrenceana'' and '' C. baeuerlenii''. Unlike other ''Correa'' species, ''C. lawrenceana'' does not readily form hybrids with other species. The names of eight varieties are accepted at the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...

: * ''Correa lawrenceana'' var. ''cordifolia'' Paul G.Wilson, commonly known as pink mountain-correa, is distinguished by its broadly elliptic to broadly heart-shaped leaves and hairy calyx long. * ''Correa lawrenceana'' var. ''genoensis'' Paul G.Wilson, commonly known as Genoa River correa, is distinguished by its broadly elliptic to broadly heart-shaped leaves and glabrous green calyx long. * ''Correa lawrenceana'' var. ''glandulifera'' Paul G.Wilson has elliptic or egg-shaped leaves, a shallow hemispherical calyx about long covered with star-shaped hairs and a yellowish green corolla. * ''Correa lawrenceana'' var. ''grampiana'' Paul G.Wilson, commonly known as Grampians mountain-correa, has leathery, broadly elliptical leaves, a calyx covered with woolly rust-coloured hairs and a cylindrical corolla covered with velvety hairs. * ''Correa lawrenceana.'' var. ''latrobeana'' (F.Muell. ex Hannaford) Paul G.Wilson is distinguished by its broadly elliptic to broadly heart-shaped leaves and hairy calyx long. * ''Correa lawrenceana'' Hook. var.'' lawrenceana'' has narrow elliptical leaves long and a green corolla. * ''Correa lawrenceana'' var. ''macrocalyx'' (Blakely) Paul G.Wilson is similar to var. ''cordifolia'' but has a calyx long. * ''Correa lawrenceana'' var. ''rosea'' Paul G.Wilson has narrow elliptical leaves long, a calyx long and a narrow cylindrical corolla that is pink to dull red with green lobes. Some varieties grade into each other, and the delineation between them is imprecise.

Distribution and habitat

The species is found in

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

and

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaf, leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is paral ...

forest in Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland. Variety ''cordifolia'' grows in forest on the coast and tablelands of southern New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and far north-eastern Victoria. Variety ''genoensis'' is only known from the banks of the

Genoa River Genoa River is a perennial river located in the Monaro region of New South Wales and flows into the East Gippsland region of Victoria in Australia. It used to be known as Bondi Creek or Yard Creek. The river's name derives from the First People ...

near the New South Wales - Victoria border. Variety ''glandulifera'' is found in the mountains from the

Gibraltar Range The Gibraltar Range is a mountain range in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The range extends off the Great Dividing Range at Bald Nob about east northeast of and trends generally east northeast and north northea ...

in New South Wales to the McPherson Range in south-eastern Queensland. Variety ''grampiana'' grows among rocks in mountain areas, mainly in the

Grampians The Grampian Mountains (''Am Monadh'' in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic) is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. T ...

. Variety ''latrobeana'' is found in south-eastern New South Wales and eastern Victoria. Variety ''lawrenceana'' occurs in mountainous areas in Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, var. ''macrocalyx'' is found in mountainous areas between the

Taree Taree is a town on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Taree and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then Taree has grown to a population of 26,381, and is the centre of a significant agricultural distri ...

and the

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

regions in New South Wales and var. ''rosea'' is only found in the

Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera system ...

of New South Wales.

Ecology

The flowers are presumed to be pollinated by either birds or bees.

Use in horticulture

''Correa lawrenceana'' is suited to a cool, moist, partly shaded position and is known to tolerate frost and snow. It can be used as a screening plant and will attract

honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...

s to the garden. Plants are easily propagated from cuttings, whereas seed can be difficult.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5172752 lawrenceana Flora of New South Wales Flora of the Australian Capital Territory Flora of Queensland Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (state) Plants described in 1834 Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker