Correa is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of mainly eastern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n plants with distinctive bell-shaped flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s. Correa is in the family Rutaceae

Rutaceae

Rutaceae, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, is a family of flowering plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.Species of the family generally have flowers that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents...

, and like many in this family the crushed leaves have a distinctive scent. There are ca. 11 species in the genus, though natural hybridisation between the species makes taxonomic relationships within this genus problematic. Because it flowers in December and has a festive red and green appearance, one species has been named Christmas bush, an appellation shared by several Australian plants

Flora of Australia

The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 20,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens...

 which bloom around the same time or are festively colored.

The genus correa is named after the Portuguese botanist José Correia da Serra

José Correia da Serra

José Francisco Correia da Serra was a Portuguese Abbot, polymath - philosopher, diplomat, statesman, politician and scientist. In some circumstances, he was also known as Abbé Correa.-Biography:...

 (1750-1823), known as Abbé Correa.

Species

The species are as follows:

• Correa aemula
  Correa aemula
  Correa aemula is a shrub which is endemic to Australia.It grows up to 2 metres in height. The elliptic leaves are densely hairy and are up to 7 cm long and 3 cm wide. The pendent, tubular flowers are mainly produced between September and December in the species native range...
  
  (Lindl.) F.Muell. - Hairy Correa
• Correa alba
  Correa alba
  Correa alba, commonly known as White Correa, is a shrub which is endemic to Australia. It grows to 1.5 metres in height, has reddish-brown hairy new growth, ovate leaves and white or occasionally light pink flowers which usually appear between mid autumn and early winter The species was first...
  
  Andrews - White Correa
• Correa backhouseana
  Correa backhouseana
  Correa backhouseana is a coastal shrub, endemic to Australia. It grows up to 2 metres in height. The ovate leaves are up to 3 cm long and 2 cm wide and are glossy dark green on top and pale grey underneath...
  
  Hook. - Coast Correa
• Correa baeuerlenii
  Correa baeuerlenii
  Correa baeuerlenii is a shrub which is endemic to New South Wales in Australia. It is commonly known as Chef's-hat Correa due to the shape of its greenish-yellow flowers...
  
  F.Muell. - Chef's Hat Correa
• Correa calycina
  Correa calycina
  Correa calycina is a tall shrub which is endemic to South Australia. It grows to between 1 and 3 metres in height and 1 to 2 metres wide. The leaves are glabrous to tomentose and are 2 to 4 cm long and 1 to 2.5 cm wide. The flowers are produced between April and September in their native range...
  
  J.M.Black - South Australian Green Correa
• Correa decumbens
  Correa decumbens
  Correa decumbens is a shrub which is endemic to South Australia. The flowers appear between November and February as well as April to August in the species native range...
  
  F.Muell. - Spreading Correa
• Correa eburnea
  Correa eburnea
  Correa eburnea is a shrub which is endemic to South Australia.The species was first formally described by Paul G. Wilson in 1998 in the botanic journal Nuytsia fom plant material collected from Deep Creek Conservation Park on the Fleurieu Peninsula...
  
  Paul G.Wilson - Deep Creek Correa
• Correa glabra
  Correa glabra
  Correa glabra is a tall shrub which is endemic to Australia.It grows up to 2.7 metres in height. The elliptic leaves are 1 to 4 cm long and 5 to 17 mm wide...
  
  Lindl. - Rock Correa
• Correa lawrenceana
  Correa lawrenceana
  Correa lawrenceana, also known as Mountain Correa, is a shrub or small tree which is endemic to Australia.-Description:Correa lawrenceana grows to between 0.6 and 9 metres in height, and has leaves with a shiny, dark-green upper surface which are 2.5 to 10.5 cm in length and about 1 to...
  
  Hook. - Mountain Correa
• Correa pulchella
  Correa pulchella
  Correa pulchella is a small shrub which is endemic to South Australia.It grows to between 0.3 and 1 metre in height and 1 to 2 metres in width. The leaves are linear-oblong to broadly ovate...
  
  Sweet - Salmon Correa
• Correa reflexa
  Correa reflexa
  Correa reflexa, commonly known as Common Correa or Native Fuchsia, is a shrub which is endemic to Australia.The species was first formally described in 1800 by botanist Jacques Labillardière in Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse based on the type from Adventure Bay in southern...
  
  (Labill.) Vent. - Common Correa, Native Fuchsia

Cultivation

Many hybrids of Correa reflexa are grown in Australian gardens. Correas are generally easy to grow shrubs which prefer a partly shaded spot in the garden. Their flowers lack the fragrances so sought after in their relatives the Boronia.