Persoonia Explained

Persoonia, commonly known as geebungs[1] or snottygobbles,[2] 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.

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] [4]

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.[5] [6] The generic name is in honour of Dutch mycologist and botanist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon. Smith did not nominate a type species but in 1988, Persoonia lanceolata was nominated as the lectotype.[7]

The term geebung is derived from the Dharug language word geebung, while the Wiradjuri term was jibbong.[8] 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".[9] The pulp around the hard stone in the drupes of Persoonia is edible although "the operation is a little like nibbling sweet cotton wool".[10]

Molecular hylogenetic studies indicate that Toronia, Garnieria and Acidonia all lie within the large genus Persoonia.[11]

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.[12]

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, 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.[13] [14]

Species list

The following is a list of species of Persoonia accepted by Plants of the World Online as of September 2023:[15]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Book: Robinson . Les . Field guide to the Native Plants of Sydney . 1991 . Kangaroo Press . Kenthurst, NSW . 0864171927 . 100 .
  2. Book: Bernhardt, Peter . [{{Google books|LAYTMPYGtbMC |page=118 |plainurl=yes}} The Rose's Kiss: A Natural History of Flowers ]. 118 . 2002 . University of Chicago Press . 1 November 2015 .
  3. Web site: Weston . Peter H. . Genus Persoonia . Royal Botanic Garden Sydney . 20 December 2017 .
  4. Web site: Jeanes . Jeff A. . Persoonia . Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria . 20 December 2017 .
  5. Web site: Persoonia . APNI . 20 December 2017 .
  6. Smith . James Edward . The Characters of Twenty New Genera of Plants. 4 . Transactions of the Linnean Society of London . 1798 . 4 . 215–216 . 20 December 2017 .
  7. Web site: Persoonia Sm. . APNI . 20 December 2017 .
  8. Web site: Aboriginal Plant Use - NSW Southern Tablelands: Geebung . Australian National Botanic Gardens . 2007 . Department of the Environment and Heritage . 5 November 2011 . Canberra, Australian Capital Territory .
  9. Book: Wright . Joseph . The English Dialect Dictionary (Volume V) . 1905 . Henry Frowde . Amen Corner, London . 594 .
  10. Book: Crib . Alan B. . Crib . Joan W. . Wild food in Australia . 1980 . Collins . Sydney . 0006344364 . 49 .
  11. 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.
  12. Web site: Weston . Peter H. . Persoonia . Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. . 29 July 2024.
  13. Bernhardt . Peter . Wilson . Peter H. . The pollination ecology of Persoonia (Proteaceae) in eastern Australia . Telopea . 1996 . 6 . 4 . 775–804 . 10.7751/telopea19963035 . 24 September 2023 .
  14. Book: Maynard . Glynn V. . Flora of Australia . Pollinators of Australian Proteaceae . McCarthy, Patrick . 16 . 1995 . Australian Biological Resources Study . Canberra . 30–33 . 24 September 2023 .
  15. Web site: Persoonia . Plants of the World Online . 24 September 2023 .

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