Correa alba

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms  > Eudicots > Rosids >  Sapindales > Rutaceae  > Correa  alba

Other links:    

Plant  information

Common name:               White Correa 

Conservation status:   unknown

Etymology:   

Flowers:                  

• The flowers are arranged singly or in groups of up to five on the ends of short side branches on pedicels 0.5–5 mm  long

• The calyx is cup-shaped or hemispherical and 2–4 mm long with four lobes

• The petals are white, rarely pale pink, 11–13 mm long, woolly hairy on the back and spreading more or less free from each other

• The eight stamens are shorter than the petals

• Flowering mainly occurs from April to June

Fruit:                         

• The fruit is 5–7 mm long and green

Leaves:         

•  The leaves are leathery, elliptic to more or less round, 8–35 mm long and 6–25 mm wide on a petiole 0.5–1.5 mm long

• The lower side of the leaves is densely covered with woolly hairs

Stem & branches:  

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A prostrate to spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of 1.5 m  and has rust-coloured, woolly-hairy young stems

Habitat:   

• White correa occurs in South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania

  • In New South Wales it grows in sandy and rocky areas in near coastal areas south form Port Stephens

  • In Victoria it is common in coastal heath and woodland, extending to the far south east of South Australia

  • In Tasmania it is common on exposed rocky and sandy areas on the north and east coasts 

Distribution:                  

• Endemic to south-eastern Australia

Additional notes:     

• It has egg-shaped to more or less circular leaves, erect white flowers arranged singly or in groups on short side branches, and green fruit

• Wombats have been known to eat the leaves and roots

• Taxonomy

  • Correa alba was first formally described by Henry Cranke Andrews in 1798 in his book,The Botanist's Repository for New, and Rare Plants

• The Australian Plant Census accepts the names of two varieties:

  • Correa alba Andrews var. alba has woolly hairs pressed against the lower surface of the leaves, and pedicels 2.5–5 mm long

  • Correa alba var. pannosa Paul G.Wilson[8] has thick, woolly to felt-like hairs on the lower surface of the leaves and pedicels 0.5–1.5 mm long

  • Occurence

    • Variety alba occurs from Port Stephens and along the coasts of New South Wales and as far west as Cape Otway in Victoria. It is also the variety occurring in Tasmania

    • Variety pannosa is found along the south-west coast of Victoria and as far east as the Encounter Bay region of South Australia

• Uses

  • In horticulture

    • Correa alba is a hardy species in well-drained situations and withstands coastal exposure

    • A position in full sun is best for flowering, but it can also be grown in part shade

    • It may be used to create an informal hedge or as a container plant

  • In food

    • The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that common names included " Cape Barren Tea" in Tasmania

    •  "The leaves of this plant have been used by the sealers on the islands in Bass's Straits as a substitute for tea

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correa_alba (2023)