Durian tupai (Malay)
Mendorong gajah (Malay)
Rami hutan (Malay)

Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae - Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta - Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta - Seed plants
Division; Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Subclass: Dilleniidae
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae - family
Genus: Commersonia J.R. Forst. & G. Forst
Species: bartramia (L.) Merr.

(Stevens, P. F. (2001+). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 7, May 2007 [updated 05/28/2007]. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/.)
(USDA, NRCS. 2006. The PLANTS Database, 7 June 2007 (http://plants.usda.gov). Data compiled from various sources by Mark W. Skinner. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.)

The leaves are ovate with serrated margins and are 6-15 cm long and 4-10 cm wide. The underside of the leaf is densely covered with yellow to gray hairs. The white flowers are produced in small clusters and are radially symmetrical as is typical for the Mallow family. The flowers contain five sepals and five petals and the stamens (pollen producing structures) are opposite the petals, which is less common in plants than positioned opposite the sepals. Five lobed, sterile stamens are also present, alternating with the fertile stamens in the flowers.
The fruit is a dry capsule that grows up to 2 cm in diameter that splits into five segments each of which contain 2-6 seeds. The burr-like capsule is covered with soft star-shaped hairs that are 3-8 mm long.

(Harden, G.J. Commersonia bartramia (L.) Merr. PlantNet. National Herbarium of New South Wales. Accessed online on August 9, 2007 at http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/
floraonline.htm.)

In Australia it is found in subtropical rainforest and in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea it is found in grasslands, thickets, and secondary forest below 1250 m. Commersonia contains approximately 14 species in South-East Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.

(Commersonia bartramia (Malaysia). Asia Pacific Medicinal Plant Database. Accessed online on August 9, 2007 at http://219.93.41.233/wapi/mctweb.dll/getObject?
MID=MEDICINALPLANT&ObjID=1.)
(Harden, G.J. Commersonia bartramia (L.) Merr. PlantNet. National Herbarium of New South Wales. Accessed online on August 9, 2007 at http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/
floraonline.htm.)

The family name Sterculiaceae (in which Commersonia was historically placed) was named from the type genus Sterculia that was named after the Roman god of privies, Sterculius, in reference to the strong smelling flowers of some Sterculia species.

(Wilkie, P., A. Clark, T. Pennington, M. Cheek, C. Bayer, C.C. Wilcock. 2006. Phylogenetic relationships within the subfamily Sterculioideae (Malvaceae/Sterculiaceae-Sterculieae) using the chloroplast gene ndhF. Systematic Botany 31(1): 160-170.)

Australian Aborigines used the cordage for the construction of fish and kangaroo nets, while in Indonesia and the Philippines it is used for the construction of ropes, and in Sumatra it is woven into mats. In the Bismarck Archipelago the fiber is used to make headbands and women’s girdles. As the trees grow quickly the timber they produce is not strong but it is considered a good source for firewood.