Persoonia levis

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Broad-leaved geebung

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Persoonia
Species:
P. levis
Binomial name
Persoonia levis
Range of P. levis in New South Wales and extending into eastern Victoria
Synonyms[2]

Persoonia salicina Pers.
Linkia levis Cav.
Linkia salicina (Pers.) Kuntze

Persoonia levis, commonly known as the broad-leaved geebung, is a

Victoria in eastern Australia. It reaches 5 m (16 ft) in height and has dark grey papery bark and bright green asymmetrical sickle-shaped leaves up to 14 cm (5.5 in) long and 8 cm (3.2 in) wide. The small yellow flowers appear in summer and autumn (December to April), followed by small green fleshy fruit, which are classified as drupes. Within the genus Persoonia
, it is a member of the Lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. P. levis interbreeds with several other species where they grow together.

Found in dry sclerophyll forest on sandstone-based nutrient-deficient soils, P. levis is adapted to a fire-prone environment; the plants resprout epicormic buds from beneath their thick bark after bushfires, and can live for over 60 years. Regeneration also takes place after fire by a ground-stored seed bank. The longtongue bee Leioproctus carinatifrons is a pollinator of the flowers, and the fruit are consumed by vertebrates such as kangaroos, possums and currawongs. Despite its horticultural appeal, P. levis is rare in cultivation as it is very hard to propagate, either by seed or cuttings.

Description

Flaky bark, with reddish layers beneath

Persoonia levis grows as a tall shrub to small tree, and can reach 5 m (16 ft) in height. The flaky soft

anther, which splits into four segments; these curl back and resemble a cross when viewed from above.[5] They provide a landing area for insects attending to the stigma, which is located at the tip of the style.[7] The smooth fleshy fruit, known as a drupe, is green and more or less round, measuring 1 cm (0.4 in) by 0.8 cm (0.3 in) in diameter.[8] It contains two seeds,[7] and has a spike at the end.[9] The drupe is juicy but stringy when unripe, and the seeds and skin are inedible.[9]

Taxonomy and classification

Persoonia levis was first collected at

Dharug language word geebung.[17]

Like most other members of the genus, Persoonia levis has seven

sections, placing P. levis (which he called P. salicina) in P. sect. Amblyanthera.[19] The 1995 Flora of Australia revision of the genus saw it classified in the Lanceolata group, a group of 58 closely related species with similar flowers but very different foliage. These species will often interbreed with each other where two members of the group occur,[5] and hybrids with P. acerosa, P. lanceolata, P. linearis, P. mollis subsp. ledifolia, P. myrtilloides subsp. myrtilloides (in the Upper Blue Mountains, these plants resemble P. lanceolata[7]), P. oxycoccoides, and P. stradbrokensis have been recorded.[3] Robert Brown initially described the hybrid with P. linearis as a species "Persoonia lucida",[7] which is now known as Persoonia × lucida,[20] and has been recorded from the southeast forests of the New South Wales south coast.[21]

Distribution and habitat

Habit, in open woodland, Georges River National Park

Persoonia levis is found from the

Botany Bay and Budderoo National Parks.[6]

Ecology

Persoonia levis is one of several species of Persoonia that regenerate by resprouting from the trunk after bushfire, an adaptation to the fire-prone habitat in which it grows. Its thick papery bark shields the underlying epicormic buds from the flames.[5] Plants also regenerate by seedlings that arise from a seedbank in the soil after fire, although they may take up to 12 months to germinate.[6] One study of sclerophyll forest unburnt for thirty years showed P. levis had declined over time.[23] P. levis plants can live for over 60 years,[6] and their leaves have a lifespan of up to 6 years.[24]

Vesicles indicating a mycorrhizal association have been found on the roots of Persoonia levis, the Proteaceae not previously noted for forming mycorrhizal associations.[25] Infection by the fungal species Anthracostroma persooniae results in leaf spot disease.[6] P. levis is the food plant of the larvae of the weevil species Eurhynchus laevior.[26]

self-incompatible—that is, they are unable to fertilise themselves and require outcrossing to another plant.[27]

Cultivation

Persoonia levis is rarely seen in cultivation, mainly because of difficulties in propagation; seed germination is unpredictable, and cuttings have been nearly impossible to strike. Nevertheless, its colourful bark and leaves are attractive horticultural features. Well-drained sandy soils in sun or part shade are needed for the plant in a garden situation.[7] Once established, it tolerates moderate frosts and dry spells and grows fairly readily, albeit slowly, in suitable conditions.[8] Plantsmen in England germinated seed as early as 1795.[7]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T118153811A122769236.en
    . Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Persoonia levis (Cav.) Domin". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-643-05693-9
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-7318-1031-7
    .
  5. ^
    ISSN 0005-0008
    .
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Benson, Doug; McDougall, Lyn (2000). "Ecology of Sydney plant species: Part 7b Dicotyledon families Proteaceae to Rubiaceae" (PDF). Cunninghamia. 6 (4): 1017–202. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-25.
  7. ^
    ISBN 0-207-17277-3
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 0-85091-634-8
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 1-86436-459-9
    .
  10. ^ Diment, Judith (1984). "Catalogue of the Natural History drawings commissioned by Joseph Banks on the Endeavour Voyage 1768-1771 held in the British Museum (Natural History) Part 1: Botany: Australia". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Historical Series. 11: 1-184 [145].
  11. ^ Cavanilles, Antonio José (1798). Icones et descriptiones plantarum, quae aut sponte in Hispania crescunt, aut in hortis hospitantur (in Latin). Vol. IV. Madrid, Spain: Matriti: Ex Regia Typographia (Eius operas dirigente Petro Iuliano Pereyra). p. 61, t. 389.
  12. ^ "Linkia levis Cav". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  13. ^ "Née, Luis (1734 - 1803)". Collectors and Illustrators. Australian National Herbarium. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  14. ^ Persoon, Christiaan Hendrik (1805). Synopsis plantarum, seu enchiridium botanicum, complectens enumerationem systematicam specierum hucusque cognitarum (in Latin). Vol. 1. Paris, France: Apud Carol. Frid. Cramerum. p. 118. fol. oblongis lato-lanceolatis, flor. racemosis
  15. ^ "Persoonia salicina Pers". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  16. ^ Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen (in Latin). London, United Kingdom: Richard Taylor and Company. p. 229 (373).
  17. ^ Australian National Botanic Gardens (2007). "Aboriginal Plant Use – NSW Southern Tablelands: Geebung". Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  18. doi:10.1071/BT9630001
    .
  19. ^ Bentham, George (1870). "Persoonia". Flora Australiensis. Vol. 5. London, United Kingdom: L. Reeve. pp. 382, 395.
  20. ^ "Persoonia x lucida R.Br". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  21. ^ Keith, David A.; Miles, Jackie; Mackenzie, Berin D. E. (1999). "Vascular flora of the South East Forests region, Eden, New South Wales" (PDF). Cunninghamia. 6 (1): 219–79. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-26.
  22. ^ UBBS. "Native Plant Species Recorded in Western Sydney" (PDF). Office of Environment and Heritage, New South Wales Government. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  23. doi:10.1071/BT09079
    .
  24. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2435.2001.00522.x
    .
  25. doi:10.1071/BT9910357
    .
  26. doi:10.1071/IT00032
    .
  27. ^ Nancarrow, Chris (27 March 2006). "Hybridisation in three sympatric Persoonia species: P. chamaepitys, P. myrtelloides and P. levis" (PDF). Australian Flora Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2011.

External links

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