Comesperma retusum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Milkwort | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific 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.
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]