Persoonia lanceolata
Encyclopedia
Persoonia lanceolata, commonly known as lance-leaf geebung, is a shrub native to New South Wales
in eastern Australia. It reaches 3 m (9.8 ft) in height and has smooth grey bark and bright green foliage. Its small yellow flowers grow on raceme
s and appear in the austral summer and autumn (January to April), followed by green fleshy fruit (known as drupe
s) which ripen the following spring (September to October). Within the genus Persoonia
, Persoonia lanceolata belongs to the lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. It interbreeds with several other species found in its range.
The species is usually found in dry sclerophyll
forest on sandstone
-based nutrient-deficient soil. It has adapted to a fire-prone environment; plants lost in bushfires can regenerate through a ground-stored seed bank
. Seedlings mostly germinate within two years of fires. Several species of native bee of the genus Leioproctus
pollinate the flowers. Swamp wallabies
are a main consumer of its fruit, and the seeds are spread in wallaby scat
. Its lifespan ranges from 25 to 60 years, though difficulties in propagation have seen low cultivation rates.
from a plant grown from seeds by L. Wilson in Islington
. Andrews also described some plants which he had grown from seed in a nursery in Hammersmith
as P. latifolia, which turned out to be the same species. The specific epithet is the Latin
word lanceolata, meaning "spear-shaped", and refers to the shape of the leaves. Lance-leaf geebung is the common name. The term geebung is derived from the Dharug language word geebung. German botanist Otto Kuntze
coined the binomial name Linkia lanceolata in 1891, from Cavanilles
' original description of the genus description Linkia, but the name was eventually rejected in favour of Persoonia. The horticulturist Joseph Knight
described this species as the privet-like persoonia (Persoonia ligustrina) in his controversial 1809 work On the cultivation of the plants belonging to the natural order of Proteeae
, but the binomial name was declared a nomen illegitimum
as it postdated Andrews' description and name. Robert Brown
used Andrews' name in his 1810 work Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen
.
In 1870, George Bentham
published the first infrageneric arrangement of Persoonia
in Volume 5 of his landmark Flora Australiensis
. He divided the genus into three sections, placing P. lanceolata in P. sect. Amblyanthera. The genus was reviewed by Peter Weston for the Flora of Australia
treatment in 1995, and P. lanceolata gave its name to the lanceolata group, a group of 58 closely related species with similar flowers but very different foliage. These species often interbreed with each other where two members of the group occur, and hybrids of P. lanceolata with P. katerae
, P. levis
, P. linearis
, P. stradbrokensis
and P. virgata
have been recorded. The glaucous-leaved P. glaucescens
was formerly considered a subspecies of P. lanceolata, but no intermediate forms have been recorded from where the two taxa grow together near Hill Top
in the Southern Highlands. P. lanceolata has seven chromosomes, as do most other members of the genus, and they are large compared to those of other proteaceae.
s, and each stem may bear 4 to 54 flowers. P. lanceolata is described as auxotelic, which means each stalk bears an individual flower that is subtended by a leaf at its junction with the stem. On 0.5 cm (0.196850393700787 in) stalks, the flowers may reach 1 cm (0.393700787401575 in) in dimensions, and are typical for the genus.
Each individual flower consists of a cylindrical perianth which splits into four segments or tepal
s, and contains both male and female parts. Within this, the central style is surrounded by the anther
, which splits into four segments; these curl back and resemble a cross when viewed from above. They provide a landing area for insects attending to the stigma
, which is located at the tip of the style. The smooth fleshy drupe
s are green and more or less round, measuring 1 cm (0.393700787401575 in) by 0.8 cm (0.31496062992126 in) in diameter. Containing two seeds, they weigh around 1.3 g (0.0458561507366456 oz) and become partly red as they ripen and fall to the ground the following spring (September to October). Once fallen to the ground, the drupes soften and become a dark red over two to three weeks before shrivelling and blackening. The drupes are edible and were eaten by the local aboriginal people.
The firm bark and lanceolate leaves of P. lanceolata distinguish it from P. levis, with which it can be confused; the latter species has flaky bark and asymmetrical leaves.
east of the Great Dividing Range
, from Trial Bay
on the Mid North Coast to Sassafras Morton National Park
in the south. Its habitat extends to dry sclerophyll
forest and heathland on sandstone
-based soils low in nutrients, particularly on the tops of ridges and slopes. Examples in more sheltered areas are often taller than those in more exposed areas. P. lanceolata is found from sea level to an altitude of 700 m (2,296.6 ft), and the annual rainfall of the area it occurs in the Sydney Basin is 900 –. The species is considered adequately protected in the Sydney region, and is found in Bouddi
, Brisbane Water
, Marramarra
, Ku-ring-gai Chase, Lane Cove, Sydney Harbour
and Botany Bay National Park
s. In heathland habitats, P. lanceolata grows with such species as Banksia ericifolia
, B. oblongifolia
and Darwinia fascicularis
. In more forested areas it is an understory
shrub alongside Lambertia formosa
, Leptospermum trinervium
, Daviesia corymbosa
, Banksia serrata
and B. ericifolia under such trees as Eucalyptus sclerophylla
, E. piperita
, E. sieberi
, E. sparsifolia
, E. punctata and Corymbia gummifera
.
(Wallabia bicolor) feeds on the fallen fruit of P. lanceolata and disperses the seed through its scat
(dung). A field study in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
found that 88% of seeds in the scat were still viable although dormant. The red-necked wallaby
(Macropus rufogriseus) feeds on drupes and is a likely seed dispersal agent. Animals can convey seed for one or two kilometres from where they have fed. Rodents such as the bush rat
(Rattus fuscipes) and black rat
(Rattus rattus) eat the drupes but chew the seed so that only fragments leave their digestive system. Foxes
have been reported to eat the fruit, and kangaroo
s and large birds such as currawong
s are thought to as well.
Colletid
bees of the genus Leioproctus
subgenus Cladocerapis forage exclusively on and pollinate flowers of many species of Persoonia. Bees of the subgenus Filiglossa in the same genus also feed only on Persoonia flowers but do not appear to be effective pollinators. Recorded species include the longtongue bees Leioproctus (Cladocerapis) carinatifrons
, L. incanescens, and L. speculiferus, as well as Leioproctus filamentosa and Exoneura species. The European honeybee (Apis mellifera) is a common visitor to flowers, although its effectiveness as a pollinator is unclear. Persoonia lanceolata is an obligate outcrosser, that is, flowers need to be pollinated by pollen from other plants, and honeybees tend to forage more on different flowers of the same plant than between plants, as native bees do. Their abundance might be impacting on the pollination success of native bees in this and other Persoonia species.
Infection by the fungal species Anthracostroma persooniae and Camarosporula persooniae results in leaf spot disease.
Examples destroyed by bushfire regenerate through seedlings surviving through seedbank in the soil. The Ku-ring-gai Chase study found that seedlings germinated within two years of a 1994 bushfire, although some appeared up to six years afterwards, while germination was not related to any particular season. Plants take six years to reach maturity. Thus, more frequent bushfires prevent recruitment and hence endanger populations. However, plants in Lane Cove National Park
were recorded maturing three years after an especially intense bushfire. What triggers germination is unknown, and seedlings have also arisen from areas disturbed by sand mining
, sometimes growing in higher concentrations than before the disturbance. The natural lifespan of a plant appears to range from 25 to 60 years.
; seed germination is unpredictable, and cuttings have proven difficult to strike. Nevertheless, its bright green hue is considered an attractive horticultural feature. Well drained sandy soils in sun or part shade are needed for this plant in a garden setting. Once established, it tolerates moderate frosts and dry spells, and grows fairly readily in suitable conditions. Plantsmen in England were able to germinate seed there in 1791.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
in eastern Australia. It reaches 3 m (9.8 ft) in height and has smooth grey bark and bright green foliage. Its small yellow flowers grow on raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s and appear in the austral summer and autumn (January to April), followed by green fleshy fruit (known as drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
s) which ripen the following spring (September to October). Within the genus Persoonia
Persoonia
Persoonia is a genus of 98 species of shrubs and small trees in the tribe Persoonioideae in the large and diverse plant family Proteaceae. In the eastern states of Australia, they are commonly known as Geebungs, while in Western Australia and South Australia they go by the common name Snottygobbles...
, Persoonia lanceolata belongs to the lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. It interbreeds with several other species found in its range.
The species is usually found in dry sclerophyll
Sclerophyll
Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
forest on sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
-based nutrient-deficient soil. It has adapted to a fire-prone environment; plants lost in bushfires can regenerate through a ground-stored seed bank
Seed bank
Seed bank may refer to:*Seedbank, a repository of preserved seeds*The store of viable plant seed in an ecosystem; for example:** Soil seed bank, the viable seed present in the soil;...
. Seedlings mostly germinate within two years of fires. Several species of native bee of the genus Leioproctus
Leioproctus
Leioproctus is a genus in the plaster bee family Colletidae. Its members are primarily found in Australasia and temperate South America, and include the most common native bees in New Zealand...
pollinate the flowers. Swamp wallabies
Swamp 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...
are a main consumer of its fruit, and the seeds are spread in wallaby scat
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
. Its lifespan ranges from 25 to 60 years, though difficulties in propagation have seen low cultivation rates.
Taxonomy
Persoonia lanceolata was officially described in 1799 by Henry Charles AndrewsHenry Charles Andrews
Henry Charles Andrews , was an English botanist, botanical artist and engraver.He lived in Knightsbridge and was married to the daughter of John Kennedy of Hammersmith, a nurseryman who assisted Andrews in the descriptions of the plants he illustrated.He was an accomplished and unusual botanical...
from a plant grown from seeds by L. Wilson in Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
. Andrews also described some plants which he had grown from seed in a nursery in Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
as P. latifolia, which turned out to be the same species. The specific epithet is the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word lanceolata, meaning "spear-shaped", and refers to the shape of the leaves. Lance-leaf geebung is the common name. The term geebung is derived from the Dharug language word geebung. German botanist Otto Kuntze
Otto Kuntze
Otto Carl Ernst Kuntze was a German botanist.-Biography:Otto Kuntze was born in Leipzig.An apothecary in his early career, he published an essay entitled Pocket Fauna of Leipzig. Between 1863 and...
coined the binomial name Linkia lanceolata in 1891, from Cavanilles
Antonio José Cavanilles
Antonio José Cavanilles was a leading Spanish taxonomic botanist of the 18th century. He named many plants, particularly from Oceania, his name is abbreviated as Cav...
' original description of the genus description Linkia, but the name was eventually rejected in favour of Persoonia. The horticulturist Joseph Knight
Joseph Knight (horticulturist)
Joseph Knight , gardener to George Hibbert, was one of the first people in England to successfully propagate Proteaceae...
described this species as the privet-like persoonia (Persoonia ligustrina) in his controversial 1809 work 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...
, but the binomial name was declared a nomen illegitimum
Nomen illegitimum
A nomen illegitimum is a technical term, used mainly in botany. It is usually abbreviated as nom. illeg..-Definition:...
as it postdated Andrews' description and name. 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...
used Andrews' name in his 1810 work Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen
Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen
Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen is an 1810 flora of Australia by botanist Robert Brown. Often referred to as Prodromus Flora Novae Hollandiae, or by its standard botanical abbreviation Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holland., it was the first attempt at a survey of the Australian flora...
.
In 1870, George Bentham
George Bentham
George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
published the first infrageneric arrangement of Persoonia
Persoonia
Persoonia is a genus of 98 species of shrubs and small trees in the tribe Persoonioideae in the large and diverse plant family Proteaceae. In the eastern states of Australia, they are commonly known as Geebungs, while in Western Australia and South Australia they go by the common name Snottygobbles...
in Volume 5 of his landmark Flora Australiensis
Flora Australiensis
Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory, more commonly referred to as Flora Australiensis, and also known by its standard abbreviation Fl. Austral., is a seven-volume flora of Australia published between 1863 and 1878 by George Bentham, with the assistance of...
. He divided the genus into three sections, placing P. lanceolata in P. sect. Amblyanthera. The genus was reviewed by Peter Weston for the Flora of Australia
Flora of Australia (series)
The Flora of Australia is a 59 volume series describing the vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens present in Australia and its external territories...
treatment in 1995, and P. lanceolata gave its name to the lanceolata group, a group of 58 closely related species with similar flowers but very different foliage. These species often interbreed with each other where two members of the group occur, and hybrids of P. lanceolata with P. katerae
Persoonia katerae
Persoonia katerae is a shrub native to New South Wales in eastern Australia....
, P. levis
Persoonia levis
Persoonia levis, commonly known as the broad-leaved geebung, is a shrub native to New South Wales and Victoria in eastern Australia. It reaches 5 m in height and has dark grey papery bark and bright green asymmetrical sickle-shaped leaves up to 14 cm long and 8 cm wide...
, P. linearis
Persoonia linearis
Persoonia linearis, commonly known as the narrow-leaved geebung, is a shrub native to New South Wales in eastern Australia.-Taxonomy:...
, P. stradbrokensis
Persoonia stradbrokensis
Persoonia stradbrokensis is a shrub native to New South Wales and Queensland in eastern Australia....
and P. virgata
Persoonia virgata
Persoonia virgata is a shrub native to New South Wales and Queensland in eastern Australia....
have been recorded. The glaucous-leaved P. glaucescens
Persoonia glaucescens
Persoonia glaucescens is a shrub native to New South Wales in eastern Australia....
was formerly considered a subspecies of P. lanceolata, but no intermediate forms have been recorded from where the two taxa grow together near Hill Top
Hill Top, New South Wales
Hill Top is a Northern Village of the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. Previous names of the village include Hilltop and Jellore. It is a 17 km drive to Mittagong and around 10 km drive to the Hume Highway via Colo Vale. It is roughly 6–8 km...
in the Southern Highlands. P. lanceolata has seven chromosomes, as do most other members of the genus, and they are large compared to those of other proteaceae.
Description
Persoonia lanceolata is a shrub which ranges from 0.5 – high. The grey bark is smooth, and the new growth is hairy. Arranged alternately on the stems, the thick leathery leaves are oblanceolate or obovate in shape, and measure 3 – in length, and around 4 cm (1.6 in) wide. Hairy when young, they are smooth and featureless. Bright green in colour with a yellowish tint at times, the leaves are concolorous, that is both leaf surfaces are the same colour. The finely hairy yellow flowers appear mainly from January to April, but may be encountered at any time of year. They are arranged in leafy racemeRaceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s, and each stem may bear 4 to 54 flowers. P. lanceolata is described as auxotelic, which means each stalk bears an individual flower that is subtended by a leaf at its junction with the stem. On 0.5 cm (0.196850393700787 in) stalks, the flowers may reach 1 cm (0.393700787401575 in) in dimensions, and are typical for the genus.
Each individual flower consists of a cylindrical perianth which splits into four segments or tepal
Tepal
Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...
s, and contains both male and female parts. Within this, the central style is surrounded by the anther
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
, which splits into four segments; these curl back and resemble a cross when viewed from above. They provide a landing area for insects attending to the stigma
Stigma (botany)
The stigma is the receptive tip of a carpel, or of several fused carpels, in the gynoecium of a flower. The stigma receives pollen at pollination and it is on the stigma that the pollen grain germinates. The stigma is adapted to catch and trap pollen with various hairs, flaps, or sculpturings...
, which is located at the tip of the style. The smooth fleshy drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
s are green and more or less round, measuring 1 cm (0.393700787401575 in) by 0.8 cm (0.31496062992126 in) in diameter. Containing two seeds, they weigh around 1.3 g (0.0458561507366456 oz) and become partly red as they ripen and fall to the ground the following spring (September to October). Once fallen to the ground, the drupes soften and become a dark red over two to three weeks before shrivelling and blackening. The drupes are edible and were eaten by the local aboriginal people.
The firm bark and lanceolate leaves of P. lanceolata distinguish it from P. levis, with which it can be confused; the latter species has flaky bark and asymmetrical leaves.
Distribution and habitat
Persoonia lanceolata is found along coastal and near-coastal areas of New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
east of the Great Dividing Range
Great 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...
, from Trial Bay
Trial Bay
Trial Bay is a broad bay on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The bay faces northwards and extends from Laggers Point in the east around to Grassy Head to the west, past the town of South West Rocks and the Macleay River mouth....
on the Mid North Coast to Sassafras Morton National Park
Morton National Park
Morton is a national park in New South Wales , 170 km southwest of Sydney.The most notable attractions are the Fitzroy Falls, just off the main road from the Highlands to Kangaroo Valley and Pigeon House Mountain west of Milton. The park consists mostly of a flat plateau dissected by steep...
in the south. Its habitat extends to dry sclerophyll
Sclerophyll
Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
forest and heathland on sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
-based soils low in nutrients, particularly on the tops of ridges and slopes. Examples in more sheltered areas are often taller than those in more exposed areas. P. lanceolata is found from sea level to an altitude of 700 m (2,296.6 ft), and the annual rainfall of the area it occurs in the Sydney Basin is 900 –. The species is considered adequately protected in the Sydney region, and is found in Bouddi
Bouddi National Park
Bouddi National Park is located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, 46 km northeast of Sydney. A section of the national park extends into the sea creating fully protected land, shore and marine habitats. The Park contains one of the last temperate rainforests on the Central...
, Brisbane Water
Brisbane Water National Park
Brisbane Water National park is a national park in New South Wales, , 47 km north of Sydney.The park has many pleasant and interesting walks that can vary from mild to rugged. One walk that can be easily accessed via public transport, is the walk to Pindar Cave on the escarpment above...
, Marramarra
Marramarra National Park
Marramarra is a national park in New South Wales , 41 km north of Sydney.-Fact sheet:*Area: 118 km²*Coordinates: *Date of establishment: December 28, 1979...
, Ku-ring-gai Chase, Lane Cove, Sydney Harbour
Sydney Harbour National Park
thumb|right|250px|[[Nielsen Park]]Sydney Harbour National Park is a national park comprising parts of Sydney Harbour, its foreshores and various islands. The park lies within the Sydney metropolitan area and was created in piecemeal fashion during the 20th century...
and Botany Bay National Park
Botany Bay National Park
Botany Bay National Park is a national park in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia located approximately 16 km south east of the Sydney central business district, on the northern and southern headlands of Botany Bay...
s. In heathland habitats, P. lanceolata grows with such species as Banksia ericifolia
Banksia ericifolia
Banksia ericifolia, the Heath-leaved Banksia , is a species of woody shrub of the Proteaceae family native to Australia. It grows in two separate regions of Central and Northern New South Wales east of the Great Dividing Range...
, B. oblongifolia
Banksia oblongifolia
The Fern-leaved Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs along the eastern coast of Australia from Wollongong, New South Wales in the south to Rockhampton, Queensland in the north...
and Darwinia fascicularis
Darwinia fascicularis
Darwinia fascicularis is shrub in the myrtle family which is endemic to areas near Sydney. The habitat is poor sandy soils, in dry eucalyptus forest or heathlands in high rainfall areas. It grows from as far north as Gosford in the Central Coast to Bulli near Wollongong. The sub species oligantha...
. In more forested areas it is 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 alongside Lambertia formosa
Lambertia formosa
Lambertia formosa, commonly known as Mountain Devil, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae endemic to New South Wales, Australia. First described by English botanist James Edward Smith in 1798, its specific name formosa is the Latin adjective for 'handsome'. No subspecies are recognised...
, Leptospermum trinervium
Leptospermum trinervium
Leptospermum trinervium is a shrub, commonly called the Paperbark Teatree, which is endemic to Australia....
, Daviesia corymbosa
Daviesia corymbosa
Daviesia corymbosa, also known as narrow leaf bitter pea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to eastern Australia. The species was first formally described by botanist James Edward Smith in 1805....
, Banksia serrata
Banksia serrata
Banksia serrata, commonly known as Old Man Banksia, Saw Banksia, Saw-tooth Banksia and Red Honeysuckle, is a species of woody shrub or tree of the genus Banksia in the Proteaceae family. Native the east coast of Australia, it is found from Queensland through to Victoria with outlying populations on...
and B. ericifolia under such trees as Eucalyptus 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...
, 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:...
, E. sieberi
Eucalyptus sieberi
Eucalyptus sieberi, the Silvertop Ash or Black Ash is a common eucalyptus tree of south eastern Australia. The range of distribution is in the higher rainfall areas, from near sea level to high altitude...
, E. sparsifolia
Eucalyptus sparsifolia
Eucalyptus sparsifolia, commonly known as the narrow-leaved stringybark, is a tree endemic to New South Wales. It was described by William Blakely in 1934....
, E. punctata and 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....
.
Ecology
The swamp wallabySwamp 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) feeds on the fallen fruit of P. lanceolata and disperses the seed through its scat
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
(dung). A field study in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
Ku-ring-gai Chase is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 25 km north of Sydney located largely within the Ku-ring-gai, Hornsby, Warringah and Pittwater municipal areas. Ku-ring-gai Chase is also officially classed as a suburb by the Geographical Names Board of New South Wales...
found that 88% of seeds in the scat were still viable although dormant. The red-necked wallaby
Red-necked Wallaby
The Red-necked Wallaby is a medium-sized marsupial macropod, common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania.- Description :...
(Macropus rufogriseus) feeds on drupes and is a likely seed dispersal agent. Animals can convey seed for one or two kilometres from where they have fed. Rodents such as the bush rat
Bush Rat
The bush rat is a small Australian nocturnal animal. It is an omnivore. It is one of the most common species of rats and is found in many heathland areas of Victoria and NSW...
(Rattus fuscipes) and black rat
Black Rat
The black rat is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus in the subfamily Murinae . The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.-Taxonomy:The black rat was...
(Rattus rattus) eat the drupes but chew the seed so that only fragments leave their digestive system. Foxes
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
have been reported to eat the fruit, and kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
s and large birds such as currawong
Currawong
Currawongs are three species of medium-sized passerine birds belonging to the genus Strepera in the family Artamidae native to Australasia. These are the Grey Currawong , Pied Currawong , and Black Currawong . The common name comes from the call of the familiar Pied Currawong of eastern Australia...
s are thought to as well.
Colletid
Colletidae
Colletidae is a family of bees, and are often referred to collectively as plasterer bees or polyester bees, due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest cells with secretions applied with their mouthparts; these secretions dry into a cellophane-like lining...
bees of the genus Leioproctus
Leioproctus
Leioproctus is a genus in the plaster bee family Colletidae. Its members are primarily found in Australasia and temperate South America, and include the most common native bees in New Zealand...
subgenus Cladocerapis forage exclusively on and pollinate flowers of many species of Persoonia. Bees of the subgenus Filiglossa in the same genus also feed only on Persoonia flowers but do not appear to be effective pollinators. Recorded species include the longtongue bees Leioproctus (Cladocerapis) carinatifrons
Leioproctus carinatifrons
Leioproctus carinatifrons is a species of Australian bee. It is found in coastal regions of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, and feeds on the nectar of various species of Persoonia. It was first described in 1929 by T. D. A. Cockerell as Paracolletes carinatifrons. Males are around ...
, L. incanescens, and L. speculiferus, as well as Leioproctus filamentosa and Exoneura species. The European honeybee (Apis mellifera) is a common visitor to flowers, although its effectiveness as a pollinator is unclear. Persoonia lanceolata is an obligate outcrosser, that is, flowers need to be pollinated by pollen from other plants, and honeybees tend to forage more on different flowers of the same plant than between plants, as native bees do. Their abundance might be impacting on the pollination success of native bees in this and other Persoonia species.
Infection by the fungal species Anthracostroma persooniae and Camarosporula persooniae results in leaf spot disease.
Examples destroyed by bushfire regenerate through seedlings surviving through seedbank in the soil. The Ku-ring-gai Chase study found that seedlings germinated within two years of a 1994 bushfire, although some appeared up to six years afterwards, while germination was not related to any particular season. Plants take six years to reach maturity. Thus, more frequent bushfires prevent recruitment and hence endanger populations. However, plants in Lane Cove National Park
Lane Cove National Park
Lane Cove National Park is a small national park located within metropolitan Sydney. The park islocated about ten kilometres north-west of the Sydney CBD...
were recorded maturing three years after an especially intense bushfire. What triggers germination is unknown, and seedlings have also arisen from areas disturbed by sand mining
Sand mining
Sand mining is a practice that is becoming an environmental issue as the demand for sand increases in industry and construction. Sand is mined from beaches and inland dunes and dredged from ocean beds and river beds. It is often used in manufacturing as an abrasive, for example, and it is used to...
, sometimes growing in higher concentrations than before the disturbance. The natural lifespan of a plant appears to range from 25 to 60 years.
Cultivation
Persoonia lanceolata is rarely seen in cultivation, mainly due to difficulties in propagationPlant propagation
Plant propagation is the process of creating new plants from a variety of sources: seeds, cuttings, bulbs and other plant parts. Plant propagation can also refer to the artificial or natural dispersal of plants.-Sexual propagation :...
; seed germination is unpredictable, and cuttings have proven difficult to strike. Nevertheless, its bright green hue is considered an attractive horticultural feature. Well drained sandy soils in sun or part shade are needed for this plant in a garden setting. Once established, it tolerates moderate frosts and dry spells, and grows fairly readily in suitable conditions. Plantsmen in England were able to germinate seed there in 1791.