Lagunaria patersonia (Andrews) G. Don

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Bulawayo Golf Course

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Synonyms:	Hibiscus patersonianus Andrews Lagunaria patersonii (Andrews) G. Don
Common names:	Cow itch tree (English) Itch tree (English) Norfolk Island hibiscus (English) Primrose tree (English) Pyramid tree (English)
Description:	Tree to 15 m tall, with a columnar or slender pyramidal shape. Leaves 5-10 cm long, thickly-textured, elliptic, evergreen, entire; silvery-tomentose beneath when young, becoming grey-green. Flowers 4.5 - 7.5 cm across, borne in the axils on short, thick, pedicels. Epicalyx of 3-5 broad segments which are fused in bud enclosing the flower. Sepals connate into a shortly 5-lobed calyx. Petals pink to mauve, fading to white. Style with 5 radiating stigmatic lobes. Fruit a brown, 5-valved, loculicidal, capsule which is retained on the tree for some months. The interior of the capsule is filled with white 'fibre-glass' hairs, which are irritant, and responsible for the vernacular names of Itch Tree and Cow Itch Tree. The seeds are smooth and kidney-shaped.
Notes:	There seems to be some ambiguity over the specific name, which is sometimes spelt 'patersonii'. We have followed The Plant List, the International Plant Names Index and The Lagunaria Page in using patersonia'.
Derivation of specific name:	patersonia: after Colonel W. Paterson who first sent the seeds of the species to England
Flowering time:	Sep-Oct
Worldwide distribution:	Native to Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island, coastal Queensland, and perhaps northeast New South Wales; commonly cultivated as a street tree in many other parts of the world
Growth form(s):	Tree.
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Literature:	Hinsley, S.R. (2004-). Malvaceae Info (http://www.malvaceae.info)

Other sources of information about Lagunaria patersonia:

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Lagunaria patersonia
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Lagunaria patersonia
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Lagunaria patersonia
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Lagunaria patersonia
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Lagunaria patersonia
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Lagunaria patersonia
JSTOR Plant Science: Lagunaria patersonia
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Lagunaria patersonia
Plants of the World Online: Lagunaria patersonia
Tropicos: Lagunaria patersonia
Wikipedia: Lagunaria patersonia