Lomatia silaifolia
Encyclopedia
Lomatia silaifolia, commonly known as crinkle bush or parsley fern, is a shrub native to Australia
.
first described this species as Embothrium silaifolium in 1793. At the time, Embothrium
was a wastebasket taxon to which many proteaceae were assigned. It was given its current binomial name by Robert Brown
in his 1810 On the natural order of plants called Proteaceae
. An alternative name, Tricondylus silaifolius, published by Joseph Knight in his 1809 On the cultivation of the plants belonging to the natural order of Proteeae
, was rejected, after Brown's 1810 description of the genus Lomatia
was officially conserved against Salisbury's 1809 Tricondylus. The species name is derived from resemblance of the leaves to the parsley genus Silaum.
An early common name applied in England was Sulphur-wort-leaved lomatia. Other common names include crinkle bush, parsley fern, wild parsley, and fern-leaved lomatia.
Hybrids with L. fraseri
and L. myricoides
have been recorded.
s appear in summer over summer and are up to 45 centimetres (17.7 in) high.
, on the Blackdown Tableland
in central Queensland, then from Gympie
in the south-east of the state to the New England area of north-eastern New South Wales, and then also from the Hunter Region to Jervis Bay
in central New South Wales. It grows as an understory
shrub in open forest on sandstone soils, associated with such trees as red bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera
), turpentine (Syncarpia glomulifera
), blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis
), Sydney peppermint (E. piperita
), narrow-leaved peppermint (E. radiata
), blue-leaved stringybark (E. agglomerata
), red stringybark (E. macrorhyncha
), grey gum (E. punctata), scribbly gum (E. sclerophylla
), smooth-barked apple (Angophora costata
) or rose sheoak (Allocasuarina torulosa
).
(Wallabia bicolor). Calves are thought to have died after eating it, and cut flowers kept indoors have been reported to attract and kill flies. Positive cyanide reactions have been recorded for the anthers, styles and stigmas.
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...
.
Taxonomy
English botanist James Edward SmithJames Edward Smith
Sir James Edward Smith was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a precocious interest in the natural world...
first described this species as Embothrium silaifolium in 1793. At the time, Embothrium
Embothrium
Embothrium is a genus of two to eight species in the plant family Proteaceae, native to southern South America, in Chile and adjacent western Argentina and southern Peru; the genus occurs as far south as Tierra del Fuego...
was a wastebasket taxon to which many proteaceae were assigned. It was given its current binomial name by Robert Brown
Robert Brown (botanist)
Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
in his 1810 On the natural order of plants called Proteaceae
On the natural order of plants called Proteaceae
On the natural order of plants called Proteaceae, also published as "On the Proteaceae of Jussieu", was a paper written by Robert Brown on the taxonomy of the plant family Proteaceae. It was read to the Linnean Society of London in the first quarter of 1809, and published in March 1810...
. An alternative name, Tricondylus silaifolius, published by Joseph Knight in his 1809 On the cultivation of the plants belonging to the natural order of Proteeae
On the cultivation of the plants belonging to the natural order of Proteeae
On the cultivation of the plants belonging to the natural order of Proteeae is an 1809 paper on the Proteaceae family of flowering plants. Although nominally written by Joseph Knight as a paper on cultivation techniques, all but 13 pages consists of an unattributed taxonomic revision now known to...
, was rejected, after Brown's 1810 description of the genus Lomatia
Lomatia
Lomatia is a genus of 12 species of evergreen flowering plants in the protea family Proteaceae. Within the family, they have been placed, alone, in their own subtribe, Lomatiinae according to Johnson & Briggs 1975 classification of the family and subsequently in Flora of Australia .The genus has a...
was officially conserved against Salisbury's 1809 Tricondylus. The species name is derived from resemblance of the leaves to the parsley genus Silaum.
An early common name applied in England was Sulphur-wort-leaved lomatia. Other common names include crinkle bush, parsley fern, wild parsley, and fern-leaved lomatia.
Hybrids with L. fraseri
Lomatia fraseri
Lomatia fraseri is a shrub or small tree which is native to rainforest margins in mountainous regions of Victoria and New South Wales in Australia...
and L. myricoides
Lomatia myricoides
Lomatia myricoides is a shrub native to Australia.-Taxonomy:English botanist C.F. Gaertner first described this species as Embothrium myricoides in 1807. It was given its current binomial name by Karel Domin in 1921....
have been recorded.
Description
Lomatia silaifolia is a small upright shrub which grows 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft) high with glaucous smooth stems. It has highly pinnate leaves which can vary in appearance and are reminiscent of parsley. They are up to 35 to 50 cm (13.8 to 19.7 in) long. The white inflorescenceInflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s appear in summer over summer and are up to 45 centimetres (17.7 in) high.
Distribution and habitat
Lomatia silaifolia is found across much of eastern Australia east of the Great Dividing RangeGreat Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
, on the Blackdown Tableland
Blackdown Tableland National Park
Blackdown Tableland is a national park in Central Queensland , 576 km northwest of Brisbane. The mountainous terrain of the tablelands provides a unique landscape featuring gorges, waterfalls and diverse vegetation....
in central Queensland, then from Gympie
Gympie
Gympie may refer to:* Gympie, a city in Queensland, Australia** Gympie Airport** Electoral district of Gympie** Gympie Region, its local government authority* Gympie Gympie , a stinging plant...
in the south-east of the state to the New England area of north-eastern New South Wales, and then also from the Hunter Region to Jervis Bay
Jervis Bay
Jervis Bay is a large bay bounded by the state of New South Wales, the Jervis Bay Territory, and a detached enclave of the Australian Capital Territory. HMAS Creswell is located between Jervis Bay Village and Greenpatch in the Jervis Bay Territory.-History:...
in central New South Wales. It grows as an understory
Understory
Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...
shrub in open forest on sandstone soils, associated with such trees as red bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera
Corymbia gummifera
Corymbia gummifera, commonly known as Red Bloodwood, is a hardwood tree native to eastern Australia.-Description:It usually grows as a tree, but may take the form of a mallee in very poor soils. As a tree it typically grows to a height of 20 to 34 metres and a trunk diameter of one metre dbh....
), turpentine (Syncarpia glomulifera
Syncarpia glomulifera
Syncarpia glomulifera is a tree native to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, which can grow to more than 30 metres in height...
), blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis
Eucalyptus pilularis
Eucalyptus pilularis, commonly known as Blackbutt, is a common and dominant tree of the myrtaceae family native to southeastern Australia. A large tree, it is identified by the stocking of rough bark, to about half way up the trunk, above this is white smooth bark. The leaves are a uniform glossy...
), Sydney peppermint (E. piperita
Eucalyptus piperita
Eucalyptus piperita, commonly known as Sydney Peppermint and Urn-fruited Peppermint, is a small to medium forest tree native to New South Wales, Australia.-Description:...
), narrow-leaved peppermint (E. radiata
Eucalyptus radiata
Eucalyptus radiata is a medium to tall tree to 30 m high with persistent bark on the trunk and larger branches or persistent to smaller branches. The bark shortly fibrous , grey to grey-brown, shedding in long ribbons...
), blue-leaved stringybark (E. agglomerata
Eucalyptus agglomerata
Eucalyptus agglomerata, known by the common name Blue leaved Stringybark, is a tree native to eastern Australia. Eucalyptus agglomerata was first described by Joseph Maiden in 1922. Its specific name a Latin adjective for "crowded" and referring to the crowded gumnuts...
), red stringybark (E. macrorhyncha
Eucalyptus macrorhyncha
Eucalyptus macrorhyncha, commonly known as Red Gum, Red Stringybark, Cannons Stringybark or Capertee Stringybark, is a small to medium-sized tree with rough, thick fibrous and stringy, dark-brown bark....
), grey gum (E. punctata), scribbly gum (E. sclerophylla
Eucalyptus sclerophylla
Eucalyptus sclerophylla, known as the Scribbly Gum, is a tree native to eastern Australia. Very similar to the related Scribbly Gum , a better known tree. The best way of distinguishing the species is the smaller hemispherical to pear shaped gumnuts of Eucalyptus sclerophylla, being 0.6 cm by...
), smooth-barked apple (Angophora costata
Angophora costata
Angophora costata is a common woodland and forest tree of Eastern Australia and is known by a variety of names including smooth-barked apple, rose gum, rose apple or Sydney red gum. It grows primarily on sandstone soils, usually on headlands, plateaus or other elevated areas. A...
) or rose sheoak (Allocasuarina torulosa
Allocasuarina torulosa
Allocasuarina torulosa is a tree which grows in sub-rainforest of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. Originally described as Casuarina torulosa by William Aiton, it was moved to its current genus in 1982 by Australian botanist Lawrie Johnson...
).
Ecology
Plants are thought to live for over 60 years and regenerate after bushfire by resprouting from the base. The leaves are eaten by swamp wallabiesSwamp Wallaby
The Swamp Wallaby is a small macropod marsupial of eastern Australia. This wallaby is also commonly known as the Black Wallaby, with other names including Black-tailed Wallaby, Fern Wallaby, Black Pademelon, Stinker , and Black Stinker...
(Wallabia bicolor). Calves are thought to have died after eating it, and cut flowers kept indoors have been reported to attract and kill flies. Positive cyanide reactions have been recorded for the anthers, styles and stigmas.