Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Correa reflexa

Flowering stem (var. reflexa). Photographer Don Wood, Wallagaraugh Flora Reserve south of Eden

Flowering stem (var. reflexa). Photographer Don Wood, Uriarra Crossing, Murrumbidgee River, ACT

Flowering stem (var. speciosa). Photographer Don Wood, Tahra Forest Wildlife Reserve, Tathra

Shrub  (var. reflexa). Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, SE Forests National Park

Common name

Common correa, Native fuschia

Family

Rutaceae

Where found

Dry forest, woodland, heath, roadsides, rocky sites, along streams, and coastal dunes.

var. reflexa:  Widespread. Rare on the tablelands and Western Slopes.

ver. speciosa: Coastal.

Notes

Shrub to 2  m high. Stems rusty stellate hairy (needs a hand lens or a macro app on your phone/tablet to see). Leaves opposite each other, 0.6–6 cm long, 4–35 mm wide, upper surface smooth to slightly rough, sparsely to densely stellate-hairy, lower surface stellate-tomentose, margins flat or curved down, tips blunt. Flowers 20–45 mm long, tubular, with 4 lobes. Calyx hemispherical, 3–6 mm long, 4-toothed. Flowers in clusters of 1–3. Flowering: April–September

 var. reflexa:  Flowers hanging down, clasped between 2 leaf-like bracts which point down; flowers green to yellow, or pinkish to red with green or pale lobes.

All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.

var. speciosa:  Flowers erect to hanging down, leaf-like bracts at the base of the flowers approximately horizontal; flowers red with green or pale lobes, or pale yellow.

PlantNET description of species and key to varieties:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Correa~reflexa (accessed 7 January, 2021)