Cochlospermum fraseri
Cochlospermum fraseri | |
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Least Concern (TPWCA) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malvales |
Family: | Bixaceae |
Genus: | Cochlospermum |
Species: | C. fraseri
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Binomial name | |
Cochlospermum fraseri | |
Occurrence data from AVH | |
Synonyms[1] | |
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Cochlospermum fraseri is a tree in the family Bixaceae with common names cotton tree, kapok bush, and kapok tree.[2] It is native to north western Australia (in Western Australia[3] and the Northern Territory[4]).
Taxonomy[]
French botanist Jules Émile Planchon described this species in 1847 from Melville Island off the north coast of Australia.[5] Two subspecies are recognised: subspecies fraseri, found mainly from Katherine to Melville Island, has smooth leaves and 2 mm-long bracts, and subspecies heteronemum, from Katherine west to the Ord River, has finely furred leaves and 40–58 mm-long bracts.[4]
Description[]
Cochlospermum fraseri is a deciduous[3] tree or shrub which can grow to 7 m tall.[4] It flowers from April to October[4] (March to August[3]), the inflorescence being a terminal panicle.[4] The flower is asymmetric, having five sepals in two whorls, with the outer two sepals being shorter than the inner three.[6] It has numerous stamens.[4] The flowers often appear when the plant has no leaves.[7] It fruits from June to March, with the fruit being a woody capsule having 3 to 5 valves.[4] The seed is surrounded by fluffy, "cottony" threads,[8] giving rise to the common name, kapok tree.
Distribution and habitat[]
It is found in the bioregions of Central Kimberley, Dampierland, Gulf Fall and Uplands, Northern Kimberley, Ord Victoria Plain, Pine Creek, Victoria Bonaparte in the Northern Territory.,[4] and the bioregions of Central Kimberley, Dampierland, Great Sandy Desert, Northern Kimberley, Ord Victoria Plain, Victoria Bonaparte in Western Australia.[3]
Cochlospermum fraseri grows in open eucalypt woodland on a variety of soils, including sands, gravelly soils, and heavy clay soils.[4]
Uses[]
The indigenous people of northern Australia would eat the flowers, either raw or cooked, and the roots of young plants.[7] They also used to use the fluff from the seeds as body decoration.[8]
This plant is a "calendar" plant of the Jawoyn people: flowering indicates when freshwater crocodiles are laying eggs, fruiting the time for collecting them.[8]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species, retrieved 3 April 2016
- ^ Atlas of Living Australia
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d FloraBase, DPAW, retrieved 3 April 2016
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i 2018. NTflora factsheet: Cochlospermum fraseri. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
- ^ Planchon, Jules Émile (1847). "Sur la nouvelle famille des Cochlospermées". London Journal of Botany (in French). 6: 307 – via BHL.
- ^ Kerrigan, R.A. & Dixon, D.J. 2011. NTflora 'Flora of the Darwin Region, Vol 1, Bixaceae Retrieved 27 May 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Brock, John (2001) [First published 1988]. Native plants of northern Australia. Frenchs Forest, New South Wales: New Holland Press. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-876334-67-3.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Moore, P. 2005. A Guide to Plants of Inland Australia (p. 376), Reed New Holland, Sydney Australia, ISBN 9781876334864
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cochlospermum fraseri. |
- Cochlospermum
- Plants described in 1847
- Taxa named by Jules Émile Planchon