Correa baeuerlenii

Location & distribution maps

Plant  information

Common name:         Chef's-hat Correa

• Also, Chef's Cap Correa

Conservation status: Vulnerable

• Listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and the NSW Government Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016

• The main threats to the species are habitat loss due to land clearing and inappropriate fire regimes

Etymology:   

Flowers

• The flowers are usually borne singly on short side branches on a pendulous pedicel 8–10 mm long

• The calyx is cylindrical, about 7 mm long with a dilated base 9–13 mm in diameter

• The corolla is greenish yellow and tubular, 20–28 mm long with four triangular lobes about 4 mm long

• The eight stamens extend beyond the end of the corolla

• Flowering occurs sporadically throughout the year with a peak in spring

Fruit:                            

• The fruit is up to 9 mm long, surrounded by the remains of the corolla

Leaves:         

• Its leaves are narrow egg-shaped to egg-shaped or elliptical, 22–65 mm long, 10–22 mm wide

• They are more or less glabrous

Stem & branches: 

• Rust coloured hairs on its stems

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A  dense, rounded shrub that typically grows to a height of 2.5 m 

Habitat:   

Distribution:                  

•  Endemic to the south-east of NSWs, Australia

• Forested areas from Bega northwards to the Clyde River district, with populations occurring at Biamanga, Deua and Mimosa Rocks NPs

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • Correa baeuerlenii was first formally described in 1884 by botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in Prodeedings of the Linnean Society of NSW

  • Specimens collected "on stony banks of rivulets of the Upper Clyde" by William Baeuerlen

• Use in horticulture

  • It can be used as a container plant or for screening

  • The flowers attract birds and flowering branches can be used indoors for floral arrangements

  • The species prefers moist soils with good drainage

  • It requires some shade, making it suitable for planting under trees

Sources of information:

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