| Woody pear | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Woody pear at Muogamarra Nature Reserve, Australia | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Xylomelum |
| Species: | X. pyriforme |
| Binomial name | |
| Xylomelum pyriforme | |
Xylomelum pyriforme, commonly known as the woody pear, is a species of plant in the family Proteaceae native to eastern Australia. It grows as a large shrub or small tree to five metres high.
Xylomelum pyriforme was first documented at Botany Bay in 1770 by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, [2] who gave it the (unpublished) binomial name Leucadendroides pyrifera in Banks' Florilegium . [3] It was first formally described as Banksia pyriformis by German botanist Joseph Gaertner in 1788 in De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum. [4] It was given its current name in 1809 by the gardener Joseph Knight in his On the cultivation of the plants belonging to the natural order of Proteeae . [1] The species name "pear-shaped" is derived from the Latin words pyrus "pear" and forma "shape". [5]
Xylomelum pyriforme grows as a large shrub or small tree, usually reaching 4–5 m (13–16 ft) high, [6] although trees to 15 m (49 ft) have been recorded in the Howes Valley northwest of Sydney. [7] The large juvenile leaves have dentate (toothed) margins with 6 to 11 teeth along each edge, while the adult leaves have entire margins. The prominently veined leaves measure 10 to 20 cm (3.9 to 7.9 in) and are up to 5 cm (2.0 in) wide. They are glabrous (smooth) and dark green. [6] New growth is covered in a fine rust-coloured fur. [8] Flowering takes place from September to November, peaking in October. [7] The inflorescences measure 5 to 8 cm (2.0 to 3.1 in) and are rusty coloured. [6] Flowers are followed by the development of the large, woody, pear-shaped seed pod which is up to 9 cm (3.5 in) long and 5 cm (2.0 in) wide. [8]
The plant's range is from the New South Wales mid-north coast south to Mittagong, with an outlying record from the vicinity of Cooma. [8] Xylomelum pyriforme grows on plateau and ridges in nutrient-poor well-drained sandstone soils in open eucalypt woodland. It is associated with such species as yellow bloodwood ( Corymbia eximia ), red bloodwood ( C. gummifera ), scribbly gum ( Eucalyptus haemastoma ), silvertop ash ( E. sieberi ), brown stringybark ( E. capitellata ), grey gum ( E. punctata ) and scribbly gum ( E. sclerophylla ). [7]
Xylomelum pyriforme regenerates from a lignotuber or epicormic buds after bushfires, and can sucker from the roots. [7] It is one of a number of Australian species that require a fire to open and disperse their seeds. [9]
The fungus Giugnardia causes leaf spot, while Cephaleutos virescens is responsible for an algal leaf spot. [7]
Rarely seen in cultivation due to the scarcity of seed, Xylomelum pyriforme seedlings grow readily but commonly quickly succumb to damping off. A plant may take 20 years to reach flowering stage from seed. [10]
Early European settlers of Australia used the tree's wood to make gun stocks. [11]
