''Persoonia oleoides'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to north-eastern New South Wales. It is an erect to low-lying shrub with oblong to egg-shaped leaves and yellow flowers in groups of up to twenty-five on a

rachis In biology, a rachis (from the grc, ῥάχις [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft". In zoology and microbiology In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this c ...

up to long.

Description

''Persoonia oleoides'' is an erect to low-lying shrub that typically grows to a height of and has smooth bark with young branchlets covered with greyish to rust-coloured hairs. The leaves are arranged alternately, oblong to elliptical, egg-shaped or spatula-shaped, long and wide. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils or on the ends of branches, sometimes on a rachis with a dormant bud on the end, sometimes on a rachis that continues to grow into a leafy branch. In the first case, there are up to three flowers on a rachis up to long. In the case of a rachis that grows into a leafy shoot, there are up to twenty-five flowers on a rachis up to long. Each flower is on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long, the

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s are yellow, hairy and long. Flowering occurs from January to February and the fruit is a green

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

, sometimes with purple stripes.

Taxonomy

''Persoonia oleoides'' was first formally described in 1991 by

Lawrie Johnson Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson FAA, (26 June 1925 – 1 August 1997) known as Lawrie Johnson, was an Australian taxonomic botanist. He worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, for the whole of his professional career, as a botanist (1948� ...

and

Peter Weston Peter Weston (19 October 1943 – 5 January 2017) was a British science fiction fan from Birmingham, UK. Weston made many contributions in fan writing, fanzine editing, convention-running and in local science fiction clubs. His 1960s pseudonym ...

in the journal '' Telopea''.

Distribution and habitat

This geebung grows in forest between the upper Clarence River, the upper

Macleay River The Macleay River is a river that spans the Northern Tablelands and Mid North Coast districts of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Formed by the confluence of the Gara River, Salisbury Waters and Bakers Creek, the Macleay River r ...

and

Barrington Tops Barrington Tops is part of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales, Australia, between Gloucester and Scone. In 1934, the area was difficult to access and was described as being "not traceable to any man-made feature". Part of the area has ...

in eastern New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18075317 Flora of New South Wales oleoides Plants described in 1991 Taxa named by Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson Taxa named by Peter H. Weston