About

Persoonia lanceolata, commonly known as lance-leaf geebung, is a shrub native to New South Wales in eastern Australia. It reaches 3 m (10 ft) in height and has smooth grey bark and bright green foliage. Its small yellow flowers grow on racemes and appear in the austral summer and autumn (January to April), followed by green fleshy fruits (known as drupes) which ripen the following spring (September to October). Within the genus Persoonia, P. lanceolata belongs to the lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. It interbreeds with several other species found in its range.

The species is usually found in dry sclerophyll forest on sandstone-based nutrient-deficient soil. It has adapted to a fire-prone environment; plants lost in bushfires can regenerate through a ground-stored seed bank. Seedlings mostly germinate within two years of fires.

How to grow it

Persoonia lanceolata is rarely seen in cultivation, mainly due to difficulties in propagation; seed germination is unpredictable, and cuttings have proven difficult to strike. Nevertheless, its bright green hue is considered an attractive horticultural feature. Well drained sandy soils in sun or part shade are needed for this plant in a garden setting. Once established, it tolerates moderate frosts and dry spells, and grows fairly readily in suitable conditions. Plantsmen in England were able to germinate seed there in 1791.

Drupes were eaten by indigenous people on the Beecroft Peninsula, and were preferred over those of P. laurina.

Where it grows

Persoonia lanceolata is found along coastal and near-coastal areas of New South Wales east of the Great Dividing Range, from Trial Bay on the Mid North Coast to Sassafras Morton National Park in the south. Its habitat extends to dry sclerophyll forest and heathland on sandstone-based soils low in nutrients, particularly on the tops of ridges and slopes. Examples in more sheltered areas are often taller than those in more exposed areas. P. lanceolata is found from sea level to an altitude of 700 m (2,300 ft), and the annual rainfall of the area it occurs in the Sydney Basin is 900–1,400 mm (35–55 in). The species is considered adequately protected in the Sydney region and is found in Bouddi, Brisbane Water, Marramarra, Ku-ring-gai Chase, Lane Cove, Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay National Parks. In heathland habitats, P. lanceolata grows with such species as Banksia ericifolia, B. oblongifolia and Darwinia fascicularis. In more forested areas it is an understory shrub alongside Lambertia formosa, Leptospermum trinervium, Daviesia corymbosa, Banksia serrata and B.

Other Persoonia plants

Needle Geebung · Persoonia acicularis · Persoonia acuminata · Persoonia adenantha · Persoonia amaliae · Persoonia angustiflora · The Tree Geebung · Geebung · Persoonia baeckeoides · Bargo Geebung · Persoonia biglandulosa · Persoonia bowgada