Correa backhouseana (Coast Correa) is a coastal shrub, endemic to 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...

. 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. The drooping, tubular flowers are pale yellow-green to white in colour.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described in 1834 by botanist William Jackson Hooker

William Jackson Hooker

Sir William Jackson Hooker, FRS was an English systematic botanist and organiser. He held the post of Regius Professor of Botany at Glasgow University, and was the first Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He enjoyed the friendship and support of Sir Joseph Banks for his exploring,...

 in The Journal of Botany. The type specimen was collected by James Backhouse

James Backhouse

James Backhouse was a botanist and missionary for the Quaker church in Australia.-Early life in England:Backhouse was the fourth child of James and Mary Backhouse a quaker business family of Darlington, County Durham, England. His father died when he was a child and his mother brought him up in a...

 at Cape Grim

Cape Grim

Cape Grim is the northwestern point of Tasmania, Australia.It is the location of the Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station which is operated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in a joint programme with the CSIRO....

 in Tasmania in 1833.

Four varieties are currently recognised:

• Correa backhouseana Hook. var. backhouseana
• Correa backhouseana var. coriacea (Paul G.Wilson) Paul G.Wilson
• Correa backhouseana var. orbicularis Paul G.Wilson - Kangaroo Island Round-leaf Correa
• Correa backhouseana var. uniflora Regel

Distribution

The species occurs in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 , Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 and the west and south coasts of Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

.

Cultivation

Correa backhouseana is a hardy plant that is useful as a screening plant or along fencelines. It is also used as a container plant and its flowers and foliage can be used in floral arrangements.
It prefers a position with some shade and will tolerate salt-laden winds and frost.

The cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

 Correa backhouseana var. coriacea 'Eucla Gold' has smaller, narrower, and more brightly coloured flowers than usual. It was selected from a wild population near Eucla, Western Australia

Eucla, Western Australia

Eucla is the easternmost locality in Western Australia, located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia along the Eyre Highway, approximately west of the South Australian border...

and brought into cultivation in Victoria in 1988.