Crowea

This article is about a plant. For the locality, see Crowea, Western Australia.

Crowea is a genus of small evergreen shrubs in the family Rutaceae, sometimes known as waxflowers. There are three species and many subspecies and cultivars, all of which are popular as ornamentals because of their abundant, attractive flowers which often occur during autumn and winter. Crowea species are all endemic to Australia, where they occur in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia.^[2][3]

Crowea
Crowea exalata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Subfamily:	Zanthoxyloideae
Genus:	Crowea Sm.[1]
Type species
Crowea saligna Andrews
Species
C. angustifolia Sm. C. exalata F.Muell. C. saligna Andrews
Synonyms[1]
Crowea sect. Eucrowea Baill. nom. inval. Eriostemon sect. Crowea (Sm.) F.Muell.

Description

Croweas are evergreen shrubs to about 1.5 m tall. The leaves are simple, glabrous and, as with other members of the Rutaceae, have oil glands and are aromatic.^[4] The flowers occur singly in the axils of the leaves, are pink and star-shaped have five petals, five sepals and ten stamens in two rings around the ovary. Crowea are closely related, and the flowers similar in appearance to those of other member of the family Rutaceae, especially Philotheca, Eriostemon and Boronia.^[2]

Taxonomy and naming

The genus was described and named by James Edward Smith in 1798^[5] and was named "to honour James Crowe esq., F.L.S. of Lakenham, near Norwich, who died Jan 16, 1807 aged 56. This gentleman was extremely well versed in the botany of Britain, more especially in the genus Salix, to which he paid particular attention, having collected and cultivated all the species he could possibly procure. The specific name of the original species, Crowea saligna alludes to Mr. Crowe's merits in this department".^[6]

The three species are accepted by the Australian Plant Census as at November 2020:

• Crowea angustifolia Sm.^[7] - Western Australia
• Crowea exalata F.Muell.^[8] - Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria
• Crowea saligna Andrews^[9] - New South Wales

Propagation and cultivation

Croweas are hardy in cultivation, moderately tolerant of frost, growing best in a well-drained mulch in partial shade. Propagation is easiest from cuttings.^[10]

In popular culture

Crowea is the title of a waltz composed 1919 by Western Australian musician Fred Barwick.^[11]