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| authority = [[Jules Émile Planchon|Planch.]]
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|range_map=Cochlospermumfraseri1.png
|range_map_caption=Occurrence data from [[Australasian Virtual Herbarium|AVH]]
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Revision as of 08:59, 29 May 2018

Cochlospermum fraseri
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Bixaceae
Genus: Cochlospermum
Species:
C. fraseri
Binomial name
Cochlospermum fraseri
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms[1]
  • Maximilianea fraseri (Planch.) Kuntze

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 supsecies 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]

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 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]

References

  1. ^ The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species, retrieved 3 April 2016
  2. ^ Atlas of Living Australia
  3. ^ a b c d FloraBase, retrieved 3 April 2016
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i 2018. NTflora factsheet: Cochlospermum fraseri. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  5. ^ Planchon, Jules Émile (1847). "On Cochlospermae". London Journal of Botany (in French). 6: 306–07.
  6. ^ Kerrigan, R.A. & Dixon, D.J. 2011. NTflora 'Flora of the Darwin Region, Vol 1, Bixaceae Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  7. ^ a b Brock, John (2001) [1988]. Native plants of northern Australia. Frenchs Forest, New South Wales: New Holland Press. p. 124. ISBN 1-876334-67-3.