The Persoonioideae are a subfamily of closely related genera within the large and diverse 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 incorporates such genera as ''

Persoonia ''Persoonia'', commonly known as geebungs or snottygobbles, 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 leav ...

'', ''

Acidonia ''Acidonia microcarpa'' is a species of shrub in the plant family Proteaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Acidonia''. It is endemic to the south coast of the Southwest Botanic Province of Western Australia. It was originally published ...

'', ''

Garnieria ''Garnieria'' is a monotypic plant genus in the family Proteaceae. Molecular hylogenetic studies indicate that it is nested in the larger Australian genus '' Persoonia'' where it may be included. It is endemic to New Caledonia where the type spec ...

'', ''

Toronia ''Toronia'' is a genus of tree in the family Proteaceae that contains a single species, ''Toronia toru'', which is endemic to New Zealand. The genus is closely related to the large genus ''Persoonia'', and in fact this species was long regarde ...

'' and ''

Placospermum ''Placospermum'' is a genus of a single species of large trees, constituting part of the plant family Proteaceae. The species ''Placospermum coriaceum'' is endemic to the rainforests of the wet tropics region of northeastern Queensland, Austral ...

''. Like most

, the great majority of species of Persoonioideae are plants of well-drained, acid, siliceous soils that are low in nutrients. Two south western species (''

Acidonia microcarpa ''Acidonia microcarpa'' is a species of shrub in the plant family Proteaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Acidonia''. It is endemic to the south coast of the Southwest Botanic Province of Western Australia. It was originally publishe ...

'', '' Persoonia graminea'') grow 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. ''

Placospermum coriaceum ''Placospermum'' is a genus of a single species of large trees, constituting part of the plant family Proteaceae. The species ''Placospermum coriaceum'' is endemic to the rainforests of the wet tropics region of northeastern Queensland, Austral ...

'' is the only species of Persoonioideae that usually completes its entire life cycle in rainforests. The others are basically plants of the shrubby strata of heathlands, and

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaf, leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is paral ...

forests and woodlands. However, some species, such as ''

Persoonia arborea ''Persoonia arborea'', commonly known as tree geebung, is a species of large shrub or small tree that is endemic to Victoria, Australia. Description ''Persoonia arborea'' is a large shrub or small tree that typically grows to a height of , its ...

'', '' P. media'' and '' P. amaliae'' occasionally find themselves surrounded by rainforests that have replaced the sclerophyll communities in which the plants germinated.

References

* * * * *Weston, P. H. (2006). ''pers. comm.'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q3900550 Proteaceae Eudicot subfamilies Taxa named by Barbara G. Briggs Taxa named by Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson Australasian realm flora