Persoonia

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Persoonia
Persoonia levis oatley 2 email.jpg
Persoonia levis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Subfamily: Persoonioideae
Tribe: Persoonieae
Genus: Persoonia
Sm. [1]
Type species
Persoonia lanceolata
Species

See text

PersooniaAllDistMap.png
Occurrence data downloaded from AVH
Synonyms [1]
Persoonia elliptica Persoonia elliptica (6725198125).jpg
Persoonia elliptica
Persoonia pinifolia fruit Persoonia pinifolia fruit.jpg
Persoonia pinifolia fruit
Persoonia levis bark Persoonia levis bark nowra.jpg
Persoonia levis bark
Persoonia coriacea shrub on road verge, near Yellowdine WA PersoonaMLFRd1.JPG
Persoonia coriacea shrub on road verge, near Yellowdine WA

Persoonia, commonly known as geebungs [2] or snottygobbles, [3] [4] is a genus of about one hundred species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus Persoonia are shrubs or small trees usually with smooth bark, simple leaves and usually yellow flowers arranged along a raceme, each flower with a leaf or scale leaf at the base. The fruit is a drupe.

Contents

Description

Persoonias are usually shrubs, sometimes small trees and usually have smooth bark. The adult leaves are simple, usually arranged alternately but sometimes in opposite pairs, or in whorls of three or four. If a petiole is present, it is short. The flowers are arranged singly or in racemes, usually of a few flowers, either in leaf axils or on the ends of the branches. Sometimes the raceme continues to grow into a leafy shoot. The tepals are free from each other except near their base, have their tips rolled back and are usually yellow. There is a single stigma on top of the ovary and surrounded by four stamens. The fruit is a drupe containing one or two seeds. [3] [5] [6]

Taxonomy and naming

The genus Persoonia was first formally described in 1798 by James Edward Smith and the description was published in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London . [7] [8] The generic name is in honour of Dutch mycologist and botanist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon. [3] Smith did not nominate a type species but in 1988, Persoonia lanceolata was nominated as the lectotype. [9]

The term geebung is derived from the Dharug language word geebung, while the Wiradjuri term was jibbong. [10] The etymology of "snottygobble" is more obscure. The English Dialect Dictionary published in 1904 lists snotergob, snot-gob and snotty-gobble as "the fruit of the yew-tree, Taxus baccata " noting that "children devour quantities of the red part of these berries, which they call snotty-gobbles, and suffer no ill-effects". [11] The pulp around the hard stone in the drupes of Persoonia is edible although "the operation is a little like nibbling sweet cotton wool". [12]

Molecular hylogenetic studies indicate that Toronia , Garnieria and Acidonia all lie within the large genus Persoonia. [13]

Distribution and habitat

Species of Persoonia are endemic to Australia, with one species, Persoonia toru found in New Zealand. In Australia, they are widespread in non-arid regions. One species, P. pertinax , is found only in the Great Victoria Desert, while a few other species venture into the arid zone, but most are concentrated in the subtropical to temperate parts of south eastern and south western Australia, including Tasmania.

Most species are plants of well-drained, acid, sandy or sandstone-based soils that are low in nutrients, although one, Persoonia graminea , grows in swampy habitats. Three species ( P. acicularis , P. bowgada and P. hexagona ) tolerate mildly calcareous soils, and several south eastern species sometimes grow on basalt-derived soils, and but these are unusual. The greatest diversity of species is found in areas with soils derived from sandstones and granites.

Ecology

The flowers of Persoonia species are pollinated by native bees, especially from the genus Leioproctus , most commonly L. speculiferus , and the introduced Apis mellifera. [14] [15]

Species list

The following is a list of species of Persoonia accepted by Plants of the World Online as of September 2023: [16]

Related Research Articles

<i>Hakea</i> Genus of plants in the family Proteaceae endemic to Australia

Hakea is a genus of about 150 species of plants in the Family Proteaceae, endemic to Australia. They are shrubs or small trees with leaves that are sometimes flat, otherwise circular in cross section in which case they are sometimes divided. The flowers are usually arranged in groups in leaf axils and resemble those of other genera, especially Grevillea. Hakeas have woody fruit which distinguishes them from grevilleas which have non-woody fruit which release the seeds as they mature. Hakeas are found in every state of Australia with the highest species diversity being found in the south west of Western Australia.

<i>Leucopogon</i> Genus of flowering plants

Leucopogon is a genus of about 150-160 species of shrubs or small trees in the family Ericaceae, in the section of that family formerly treated as the separate family Epacridaceae. They are native to Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, the western Pacific Islands and Malaysia, with the greatest species diversity in southeastern Australia. Plants in this genus have leaves with a few more or less parallel veins, and tube-shaped flowers usually with a white beard inside.

<i>Prostanthera</i> Genus of plants

Prostanthera, commonly known as mintbush or mint bush, is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae, and all are endemic to Australia. Plants are usually shrubs, rarely trees with leaves in opposite pairs. The flowers are arranged in panicles in the leaf axils or on the ends of branchlets. The sepals are joined at the base with two lobes. The petals are usually blue to purple or white, joined in a tube with two "lips", the lower lip with three lobes and the upper lip with two lobes or notched.

<i>Epacris</i> Genus of flowering plants in the heath family Ericaceae

Epacris is a genus of about forty species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. It was formerly treated in a closely related but separate family Epacridaceae, but the various genera within Epacridaceae including Epacris have been revised in their relationships to each other and brought under the common umbrella of the Ericaceae. The genus Epacris is native to eastern and southeastern Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand. The species are known as heaths or Australian heaths.

<i>Pimelea</i> Genus of flowering plants

Pimelea, commonly known as rice flowers, is a genus of plants belonging to the family Thymelaeaceae. There are about 150 species, including 110 in Australia and 36 in New Zealand.

<i>Xylomelum</i> Genus of plants in the family Proteaceae native to Australia

Xylomelum is a genus of six species of flowering plants, often commonly known as woody pears, in the family Proteaceae and are endemic to Australia. Plants in this genus are tall shrubs or small trees with leaves arranged in opposite pairs, relatively small flowers arranged in spike-like groups, and the fruit a woody, more or less pear-shaped follicle.

<i>Isopogon</i> Genus of flowering plants

Isopogon, commonly known as conesticks, conebushes or coneflowers, is a genus of about forty species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, and are endemic to Australia. They are shrubs with rigid leaves, bisexual flowers in a dense spike or "cone" and the fruit is a small, hairy nut.

<i>Dillwynia</i> Genus of legumes

Dillwynia is a genus of about 20 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, and is endemic to Australia. Plants in this genus are shrubs with simple leaves and yellow or red and yellow flowers similar to others in the family.

<i>Mirbelia</i> Genus of legumes

Mirbelia is a plant genus belonging to the family Fabaceae and is endemic to Australia, occurring in every mainland state except South Australia. Plants in the genus Mirbelia are prickly, perennial shrubs with simple, sometimes sharply-pointed leaves, or the leaves absent. The flowers are arranged singly or in groups in leaf axils or on the ends of branches, the sepals joined at the base with five teeth. The petals are usually red, orange, purplish or bluish and the fruit is an inflated pod.

<i>Gompholobium</i> Genus of legumes

Gompholobium, commonly known as glory peas or wedge-peas, is a genus of plants in the pea family Fabaceae and is endemic to Australia. Most species have compound leaves composed of three leaflets and all have ten stamens which are free from each other and a distinctive arrangement of their sepals.

<i>Cryptandra</i> Genus of flowering plants

Cryptandra is a genus of flowering plants family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to Australia. Most plants in the genus Cryptandra are spiny, heath-like shrubs with small, clustered leaves and flowers crowded at the ends of branches, the flowers are usually small, surrounded by brown bracts, and with tube-shaped hypanthium, the petals hooded over the anthers.

<i>Bossiaea</i> Genus of legumes

Bossiaea is a genus of about 78 species of flowering plants in the pea family Fabaceae and is endemic to Australia. Plants in this genus often have stems and branches modified as cladodes, simple, often much reduced leaves, flowers with the upper two sepal lobes larger than the lower three, usually orange to yellow petals with reddish markings, and the fruit a more or less flattened pod.

<i>Petrophile</i> Genus of shrubs in the family Proteaceae

Petrophile is a genus of evergreen shrubs, in the family Proteaceae. The genus is endemic to Australia. Commonly known as conebushes, they typically have prickly, divided foliage and produce prominently-displayed pink, yellow or cream flowers followed by grey, conical fruits.

<i>Daviesia</i> Genus of plants

Daviesia, commonly known as bitter-peas, is a genus of about 130 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, and is endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus Daviesia are shrubs or small trees with leaves modified as phyllodes or reduced to scales. The flowers are arranged singly or in groups, usually in leaf axils, the sepals joined at the base with five teeth, the petals usually yellowish with reddish markings and the fruit a pod.

<i>Persoonia myrtilloides</i> Species of flowering plant

Persoonia myrtilloides, commonly known as myrtle geebung, is a plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is an erect to spreading shrub with elliptic to egg-shaped leaves and yellow flowers in groups of up to forty on a rachis up to 170 mm (6.7 in) long.

<i>Persoonia mollis</i> Species of flowering plant

Persoonia mollis, commonly known as soft geebung, is a plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is an erect to prostrate shrub with linear to oblong or spatula-shaped leaves, yellow flowers in groups of up to thirty on a rachis up to 150 mm (5.9 in) long and relatively small fruit.

References

  1. 1 2 "Persoonia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  2. Robinson, Les (1991). Field guide to the Native Plants of Sydney. Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press. p. 100. ISBN   0864171927.
  3. 1 2 3 "Persoonia". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. Bernhardt, Peter (2002). The Rose's Kiss: A Natural History of Flowers. University of Chicago Press. p. 118. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  5. Weston, Peter H. "Genus Persoonia". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  6. Jeanes, Jeff A. "Persoonia". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  7. "Persoonia". APNI. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  8. Smith, James Edward (1798). "The Characters of Twenty New Genera of Plants. 4". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 4: 215–216. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  9. "Persoonia Sm". APNI. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  10. Australian National Botanic Gardens (2007). "Aboriginal Plant Use - NSW Southern Tablelands: Geebung". Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  11. Wright, Joseph (1905). The English Dialect Dictionary (Volume V). Amen Corner, London: Henry Frowde. p. 594.
  12. Crib, Alan B.; Crib, Joan W. (1980). Wild food in Australia. Sydney: Collins. p. 49. ISBN   0006344364.
  13. Holmes, G. D., Weston, P. H., Murphy, D. J., Connelly, C., & Cantrill, D. J. (2018). The genealogy of geebungs: phylogenetic analysis of Persoonia (Proteaceae) and related genera in subfamily Persoonioideae. Australian Systematic Botany, 31(2), 166-189.
  14. Bernhardt, Peter; Wilson, Peter H. (1996). "The pollination ecology of Persoonia (Proteaceae) in eastern Australia". Telopea. 6 (4): 775–804. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  15. Maynard, Glynn V. (1995). "Pollinators of Australian Proteaceae". In McCarthy, Patrick (ed.). Flora of Australia (PDF). Vol. 16. Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study. pp. 30–33. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  16. "Persoonia". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 24 September 2023.

Further reading