Persoonia is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of 98 species of
shrubA shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s and small
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s in the tribe
PersoonioideaeThe Persoonioideae are a subfamily of closely releted genera within the large and diverse Proteaceae family and incorporates such genera as Persoonia, Acidonia, Toronia and Placospermum....
in the large and diverse plant family
ProteaceaeProteaceae is a family of flowering plants. Mainly restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, it is a fairly large family, with around 80 genera but fewer than 2000 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia,...
. In the
eastern states of AustraliaThe Eastern states of Australia refers to the states adjoining the east coast of Australia. These are the mainland states of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. The Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory, while not states, are also included. The term usually includes the...
, they are commonly known as
Geebungs, while in
Western AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Australia's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.2 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.The state's capital...
and
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
they go by the common name
Snottygobbles. The generic name is in honour of
DutchThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
mycologistMycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy, and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals , food , entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or infection.From...
and
botanistBotany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant life and development...
Christiaan Hendrik Persoon.
All species are
endemicEndemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, habitat type, nation, or other defined zone. To be endemic to a place or area means that it is found only in that part of the world and nowhere else. For example, many species of lemur...
to
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, though a closely related species,
Toronia toru is found in New Zealand and has been described as a species within the genus
Persoonia previously.
Persoonia is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of 98 species of
shrubA shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s and small
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s in the tribe
PersoonioideaeThe Persoonioideae are a subfamily of closely releted genera within the large and diverse Proteaceae family and incorporates such genera as Persoonia, Acidonia, Toronia and Placospermum....
in the large and diverse plant family
ProteaceaeProteaceae is a family of flowering plants. Mainly restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, it is a fairly large family, with around 80 genera but fewer than 2000 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia,...
. In the
eastern states of AustraliaThe Eastern states of Australia refers to the states adjoining the east coast of Australia. These are the mainland states of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. The Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory, while not states, are also included. The term usually includes the...
, they are commonly known as
Geebungs, while in
Western AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Australia's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.2 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.The state's capital...
and
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
they go by the common name
Snottygobbles. The generic name is in honour of
DutchThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
mycologistMycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy, and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals , food , entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or infection.From...
and
botanistBotany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology and is the scientific study of plant life and development...
Christiaan Hendrik Persoon.
All species are
endemicEndemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, habitat type, nation, or other defined zone. To be endemic to a place or area means that it is found only in that part of the world and nowhere else. For example, many species of lemur...
to
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, though a closely related species,
Toronia toru is found in New Zealand and has been described as a species within the genus
Persoonia previously. They are widespread in non-arid regions. One species,
P. pertinax, is found only in the
Great Victoria DesertThe Great Victoria Desert is a barren, arid, and sparsely populated desert ecoregion in southern Australia. It falls inside the states of South Australia and Western Australia and consists of many small sandhills, grasslands and salt lakes. It is over 700 kilometres wide and covers an area of...
, 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.
Ecology
Most species are plants of well-drained, acid, siliceous soils that are low in nutrients, though one,
Persoonia graminea, grows in swampy habitats, three others (
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 exceptional. The greatest diversity of species is found in areas with soils derived from sandstones and granites.
Little is known of the interactions between micro-organisms and species of
Persoonia. Mycorrhizal associations have not been reported for any species of
PersoonioideaeThe Persoonioideae are a subfamily of closely releted genera within the large and diverse Proteaceae family and incorporates such genera as Persoonia, Acidonia, Toronia and Placospermum....
. Several species of
Persoonia (
P. elliptica,
P. gunnii,
P. longifoliaThe Upright Snottygobble , also known as the Long-leaf Persoonia or just Snottygobble, is a species of tall shrub or small tree in the plant genus Persoonia, reaching 1 to 5 metres in height. It is found in the Jarrah forests of southwest Western Australia...
,
P. micrantheraPersoonia micranthera, commonly known as the small-flowered snottygobble, is an endangered prostrate shrub with yellow flowers and thin bark. It grows only on two peaks, Bluff Knoll and Isongerup Peak, in the eastern section of the Stirling Range, Western Australia...
,
P. muelleri) are known to be highly susceptible to infection by an Oomycete,
Phytophthora cinnamomiPhytophthora cinnamomi is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants called "root rot" or "dieback". The plant pathogen is one of the worlds most invasive species and is present in over 70 countries from around the world.- Life cycle and effects on plants...
, in the wild and this pathogen is strongly suspected of being responsible for the deaths of many other species in cultivation.
The sclerophyllous communities in which
Persoonia species usually live are fire-prone environments and, not surprisingly,
Persoonia species are adapted to fires of moderate frequency. The most obvious adaptations are features that allow plants to survive fires, albeit in a more-or-less pruned state. Many species, especially in the south west, are lignotuberous, resprouting from ground level after fire. Several also develop thick bark that protects epicormic buds, which resprout from trunks and large branches after fire. The most eye-catching of these are the four “paper-barked” species:
P. falcata,
P. levis,
P. linearis and
P. longifoliaThe Upright Snottygobble , also known as the Long-leaf Persoonia or just Snottygobble, is a species of tall shrub or small tree in the plant genus Persoonia, reaching 1 to 5 metres in height. It is found in the Jarrah forests of southwest Western Australia...
. Branch resprouters with less conspicuous protective bark include
P. amaliae,
P. elliptica,
P. katerae and
P. stradbrokensis. Fire-sensitive species survive fires as buried seeds, which tend to germinate prolifically after disturbance. These species seem to require an interval of at least eight years between fires, allowing newly germinated plants to reach reproductive maturity and establish a replacement seed bank. The natural patterns and processes involved in this kind of life cycle, including seed longevity, the environmental cues that stimulate germination, and even the time from germination to first flowering are still poorly understood.
The best studied interaction between animals and
Persoonia species is that between the plants and their pollinators. All species that have been studied in detail have been found to be pollinated by a variety of native bees, but especially species of
LeioproctusLeioproctus is a genus in the plaster bee family Colletidae. They occur throughout Australia....
subgenus
Cladocerapis (
ColletidaeColletidae is a family of bees, and are often referred to collectively as plasterer 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. There are 5 subfamilies, 54 genera, and over 2000...
), which rarely visit any plants but
Persoonia (see Maynard 1995, Bernhardt and Weston 1996). The behaviour of these bees on
Persoonia flowers is quite predictable. Both males and females alight on the cross-shaped “platform” formed by the recurved anther tips, orient themselves to be facing one of the anther/tepals, then slide, face first, down between the anther and the style to reach the two glands at either side of the base of the tepal, and drink the nectar from them. Females gather pollen grains with their legs while drinking nectar. The insect then withdraws to the top of the flower, makes a 180º turn, then repeats the process on the other side of the flower. Another species group in
LeioproctusLeioproctus is a genus in the plaster bee family Colletidae. They occur throughout Australia....
, subgenus
Filiglossa, also specialises in feeding on
Persoonia flowers but these smaller bees seem to be nectar and pollen “thieves”, not effective pollinators. The introduced honeybee, (
Apis mellifera) is also a frequent visitor of
Persoonia flowers at most sites but it is still unclear whether this species is an effective pollinator.
The fleshy fruits of
Persoonia species are clearly adapted for animal dispersal but it is still unclear whether mammals such as possums and wallabies or large flying birds such as
currawongCurrawongs are medium-sized passerine birds of the family Artamidae native to Australasia. There are either three or four species . The common name comes from the call of the familiar Pied Currawong of eastern Australia and is onomatopoeic...
s are the most important dispersers. Another group of birds, parrots, also consume
Persoonia fruits, but they eat the seeds in unripe fruits and so their interaction with
Persoonia is predatory rather than symbiotic.
Species
- Rufiflora Group
- Persoonia inconspicua
- Persoonia brevirhachis
- Persoonia rufiflora
- Laurina Group
- Persoonia laurina
- Persoonia confertiflora
- Persoonia silvatica
- Longifolia Group
- Persoonia longifolia
The Upright Snottygobble , also known as the Long-leaf Persoonia or just Snottygobble, is a species of tall shrub or small tree in the plant genus Persoonia, reaching 1 to 5 metres in height. It is found in the Jarrah forests of southwest Western Australia...
- Persoonia elliptica
- Arborea Group
- Persoonia arborea
- Persoonia subvelutina
- Gunnii Group
- Persoonia gunnii
- Persoonia muelleri
- Persoonia moscalii
- Lanceolata Group
- Persoonia juniperina
- Persoonia chamaepeuce
- Persoonia virgata
- Persoonia tenuifolia
- Persoonia acerosa
- Persoonia myrtilloides
- Persoonia brevifolia
- Persoonia acuminata
- Persoonia recedens
- Persoonia oxycoccoides
- Persoonia asperula
- Persoonia microphylla
- Persoonia terminalis
- Persoonia bargoensis
- Persoonia nutans
- Persoonia laxa
- Persoonia oblongata
- Persoonia marginata
- Persoonia daphnoides
- Persoonia procumbens
- Persoonia oleoides
- Persoonia rufa
- Persoonia cornifolia
- Persoonia katerae
- Persoonia adenantha
- Persoonia stradbrokensis
- Persoonia prostrata
- Persoonia conjuncta
- Persoonia media
- Persoonia iogyna
- Persoonia tropica
- Persoonia amaliae
- Persoonia volcanica
- Persoonia hirsuta
- Persoonia chamaepitys
- Persoonia sericea
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Lanceolata Group (continued)
- Persoonia fastigiata
- Persoonia subtilis
- Persoonia curvifolia
- Persoonia cuspidifera
- Persoonia rigida
- Persoonia mollis
- Persoonia lanceolata
- Persoonia glaucescens
- Persoonia levis
- Persoonia linearis
- Persoonia pinifolia
Persoonia pinifolia, or Pine-leaved Geebung , is a large shrub which is native to the Sydney region in New South Wales, Australia. It can reach up to 3 metres in both height and width. It has long and narrow leaves up to 70 cm long and small yellow flowers in summer that appear on the end of...
- Persoonia isophylla
- Persoonia coriacea
- Persoonia helix
- Persoonia pertinax
- Persoonia cymbifolia
- Persoonia leucopogon
- Persoonia pungens
- Persoonia baeckeoides
Dillwynioides Group
- Persoonia cordifolia
- Persoonia dillwynioides
- Persoonia flexifolia
Graminea Group
- Persoonia graminea
- Persoonia micranthera
Persoonia micranthera, commonly known as the small-flowered snottygobble, is an endangered prostrate shrub with yellow flowers and thin bark. It grows only on two peaks, Bluff Knoll and Isongerup Peak, in the eastern section of the Stirling Range, Western Australia...
Chapmaniana Group
- Persoonia chapmaniana
- Persoonia pentasticha
Quinquenervis Group
- Persoonia trinervis
- Persoonia angustiflora
- Persoonia papillosa
- Persoonia bowgada
- Persoonia hexagona
- Persoonia spathulata
- Persoonia scabra
- Persoonia quinquenervis
- Persoonia striata
- Persoonia sulcata
- Persoonia acicularis
- Persoonia rudis
- Persoonia filiformis
Teretifolia Group
- Persoonia falcata
- Persoonia biglandulosa
- Persoonia brachystylis
- Persoonia kararae
- Persoonia stricta
- Persoonia saundersiana
- Persoonia teretifolia
- Persoonia comata
- Persoonia saccata
- Persoonia hakeiformis
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