THE WARATAH and OTHER PROTEACEAE

Home , Conospermum, Isopogon anethifolius, Lambertia, Lomatia, Persoonia, Proteaceae

Australian Plants Society NORTH SHORE GROUP Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden

Topic 23: THE WARATAH and OTHER PROTEACEAE

The Proteaceae is a very ancient family occurring in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South America and Eastern Asia. It contains about 79 genera, 46 of which occur in Australia through about 1110 species

TELOPEA This genus was named by Robert Brown in 1810, from the Greek “telepos”, meaning “seen from afar”, and refers to the conspicuous nature of the crimson head of flowers. The Aborigines called these beautiful shrubs Waratah. It is a small genus which contains 5 species only, all of which are confined to the south-eastern regions of the continent and Tasmania. Telopea speciosissima (meaning “most handsome”) occurs in New South Wales from Gosford, Putty and the Blue Mountains, south to Conjola, usually on sandstone. It occurs naturally in the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden. There is an isolated occurrence in the Gibraltar Range east of Glen Innes but this population is now accepted as a separate species, Telopea aspera, and is differentiated by rusty-coloured hairs on stem and leaf under-surface and its wider, rougher leaves.

Telopea speciosissima “Wirrimbirra White” Photo J. Plaza ©Royal Botanic Gardens & Photo J. Plaza ©Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia. Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.

Telopea oreades (meaning belonging to the mountains) is the third species occurring in New South Wales. It is found in the Bombala District and far south coast of New South Wales, extending into East Gippsland in Victoria. There is an isolated population in the Mongarlowe Valley, west of Ulladulla. The leaves are entire, the flower head more open than T. speciosissima

Telopea oreades Photo J. Plaza ©Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.

Telopea mongaensis (referring to the district of origin, Monga) is also a New South Wales species and occurs from Meryla State Forest near Moss Vale south to the Mongarlowe Valley. It is similar to T. oreades, but does not grow as tall.

Telopea truncata (meaning truncate - referring to the truncate seed-wing) is endemic to Tasmania, where it is widespread in the wet, mountainous areas. It has an open flowerhead of less than 20 flowers, each with a distinctive bent style.

See Ref 1: Page 537

The flowers of all Telopea species are arranged in dense, terminal, racemose clusters. As in all racemes, the flowers are borne on separate stalks, but in this case they arise in pairs so close together on the rachis that they touch one another and give the inflorescence the appearance of a head. The size and shape of the inflorescence vary with the species. With Telopea speciosissima the oldest flowers are at the base of the flower head, and the youngest ones are at the apex, and as a consequence the upper flowers are often still in bud when the lowest ones are fully opened. With the other three species, the apical flowers open first. In all species the inflorescence is surrounded at the base by an involucre of large bracts which vary in size according to the species.

Acknowledgement: For the above information and diagram, our thanks to “Australian Plants” March 1988, Vol. 14, No 114.

PERSOONIA

Named by J E Smith in 1798 after the Dutch botanist Persoon. 90 species endemic to Australia, about 15 in the Sydney region. They are shrubs or small trees with leaves simple and entire, flowers regular, often solitary in upper leaf axils or forming a subterminal raceme. Perianth segments are yellow, equally spreading, recurved above, finally almost free. Anthers are free or basally attached to the perianth segments. Flowering occurs in summer. Fruit is a drupe, usually with persistent style.

Photo: T. Armstrong ©Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.

LOCALLY we have:

P. pinifolia, a beautiful and common shrub, restricted to the coastal zone near Sydney. Its leaves are near terete, 3-4cm x 0.5mm, mid-green with a short, recurved brown point. Inflorescences are dense, terminal racemes. Fruit remains green on the plant but falls and turns purple (and sweet) when ripe.

P. lanceolata, an erect shrub of the coast and ranges growing in heath and DSF (dry sclerophyll forest). Leaves are oblanceolate to obovate, 3-10cm x 4- 32mm, green to yellowish green. Flowers are produced in the upper leaf axils in late summer, and the fruit are yellowish-green.

P. linearis, a widespread shrub to small tree in local forests. It has black, papery bark and green to reddish brown branchlets. Leaves are linear, 2-8.5cm x1-6mm, with flat upper and lower surfaces tapering to a short point. The inflorescence is a short, sub-terminal raceme in the upper axils. The fruit is yellowish-green with red striations.

P. levis, a widespread shrub to small tree, easily distinguished by its black papery bark (red underneath) and its bright green and broad, 6-14cm x 13-80mm, leaves. Flowers are erect and solitary or in small, loose, sub-terminal racemes.

ISOPOGON

Isopogon was named by R Brown from the Greek words for “equal beard” (published 1810), referring to the silky hairs on the fruit. It is a genus of 35 species, 25 of which occur in south-west W.A., the rest in the other states (not in the N.T.). They are erect shrubs with alternate leaves, often deeply divided and subdivided. The inflorescences are short, dense spikes, often globular. The slender flowers are sessile, each subtended by a bract which is deciduous from the fruit, which is a small, spindle-shaped achene.

LOCALLY we have:

I. anethifolius (dill-like foliage), an erect shrub to 3m with one to several grey-brown stems arising from a lignotuber. The leaves are erect, terete, pinnately divided in the upper halves and divided again. The flowers are yellow, in dense globular heads, each flower subtended by a stiff, wedge-shaped bract. It is common in Sydney sandstone and the southern NSW coast and ranges.

I. anemonifolius (anemone-like foliage) differs in having flat, linear leaf segments. It occurs widely in the Sydney region, from coast to mountains, in DSF and heath, and from southern NSW to Queensland.

PETROPHILE

Named by Robert Brown, published first in 1809, referring to the habitat of the first specimens collected - i.e. rock loving. There are about 42 endemic species, 30 of which grow in south-west W.A. The genus is closely related to Isopogon but differs in that the bracts of the fruit in Petrophile become woody and imbricate and persist, whereas those of Isopogon remain relatively soft and fall off. The local Petrophiles have egg-shaped cones, whereas those of the Isopogons are spherical. This is reflected in the common names - “cone sticks” and “drumsticks”. The flowers of the local Petrophile are whitish or yellow. The fruit is an achene.

Common in the Ku-ring-gai area is:

P. pulchella, widespread from coast to mountains in heath and treed areas. It is an erect shrub to 3m with near terete leaves very like those of Isopogon anethifolius. The leaves ascend in the same direction. The inflorescences are terminal, stalkless or with very short stalks, solitary or in small clusters. The fruiting cone is 3-5cm x 15mm. The individual fruit is brown, 3.5mm long, 3mm wide, with silky hairs.

CONOSPERMUM

The genus was named by J E Smith in 1798 from the Greek - cone-seed, referring to the seed’s (fruit’s) shape. It is a genus of about 40 species, mostly in south-west W.A. It is a genus of large and small shrubs with alternate, simple leaves, often crowded. The small flowers are white, cream to bluish, in dense terminal or near-terminal spikes, usually arranged in corymbose panicles, usually on a long peduncle. The perianth tube is short and irregular, with a broad upper lobe opposite 3 narrow, spreading lobes. The fruit is a tiny inverted cone with a fringe of silky hairs - an achene.

In the Wildflower Garden we have:

C. longifolium, a slender under-shrub to 1.5m high, with long, light green, broad, tapered, undulate leaves with a long petiole. The leaves are on the upper part of the stem. In spring dense heads of small, white to cream flowers are produced on long peduncles;

C. ericifolium, which has linear to terete leaves, 5-15mm long and 1mm wide along the stem.

LOMATIA

This genus was named by Robert Brown in 1810 from the Greek “loma”, a fringe, referring to the border on the wing of the seed. There are 12 species, 8 of which are endemic to Australia, 3 occurring in the Sydney region. They are shrubs to small trees, with alternate leaves. The inflorescences are terminal or axillary; the flowers are cream to green in pairs on slender pedicels. The perianth tube splits into 4 reflexed anther- bearing lobes, the anthers being sessile on the perianth limb. The fruit is a follicle, which opens to be almost flat and contains numerous seeds in 2 rows, each with a broad wing.

In the Wildflower Garden we have:

L. silaifolia (“silai” describing the finely divided leaf). It is a plant widespread from coast to the Blue Mountains with distinctive much-divided leaves. The summer flowers are produced on a very long peduncle which much exceeds the leaves.

Also growing in the Wildflower Garden is: l. myricoides (“myricoides” means resembling Myrica, the wax myrtle) which grows beside the creeks at the bottom of the Garden and is widely distributed in similar conditions in the Sydney region. It is an erect shrub to 5m. The leaves are linear, narrow-oblong to lanceolate, tapering at both ends and with serrated margins. Terminal or axillary racemes are much the same length as the leaves. Flowers are creamish-green on pedicels of 6-7mm. The fruit is green.

LAMBERTIA

A genus named by J E Smith in 1798 to honour A B Lambert, a contemporary natural historian. The 10 species are endemic to Australia - 9 in W.A., 1 in NSW. They are shrubs with simple, stiff, sharply pointed leaves in whorls. The inflorescence is a terminal head of 1 to 7 flowers, surrounded by long, colourful, overlapping bracts. The flowers are sessile and regular, with anthers on the tepal lobes and a straight central style. The fruit, a woody, rough, triangular follicle with a short beak and 2 horns, contains 2 circular seeds with a marginal wing. When ripe the fruit splits and releases the seed.

L. formosa, mainly restricted to the Sydney sandstone, grows naturally in the Wildflower Garden. It is a stiff, spreading shrub to 2m. The leaves are in whorls of 3; the flowers in clusters of 7. The flowers are rich in nectar. “Formosa” means shapely or beautiful, referring to the flower, and the common name ”Mountain devil” refers to the shape of the fruit.

XYLOMELUM

The genus was named in 1798 by J E Smith, from the Greek words for wood and fruit. There are 5 endemic species, 2 in W.A. and 3 in the east, 1 of which grows in the Sydney region. It is a genus of large shrubs and small trees, with opposite, simple leaves with margins coarsely toothed in juveniles, and entire in adult plants. Inflorescences are terminal, dense, opposite, cylindrical spikes. Flowers are paired and subtended by hairy bracts and themselves covered by woolly hairs. The fruit is a large woody follicle, with a velvety surface. It contains 2 large, winged seeds, but remains closed indefinitely.

X. pyriforme (pear-shaped) grows to 8m. New leaves are red; flower spikes tan and 5-8cm long. It is widespread from coast to the Blue Mountains in pockets of deep soil.

Photo: F. Langshaw

REFERENCES:

1. Flora of Australia, Volume 1, Introduction, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra (1981) 2. Wrigley, J. W. & Fagg, M. Banksias, Waratahs & Grevilleas and all other plants in the Australian Proteaceae Family. Harper Collins, Sydney, 1991. 3. Waite, Lesley: How to Grow Waratahs, 2002 4. Stuart, E:” North Shore Group: The Waratah and other Proteaceae”. Rev LW/2004 5. Edmonds, T and Webb, J: Sydney Flora. Ed 2.1998. Surrey Beatty & Sons. Chipping Norton. 6. Blombery, A M & Maloney, B. The Proteaceae of the Sydney Region. Kangaroo Press, 1992. 7. Harden, GJ et al, Editors: Proteaceae of NSW. RBG and Domain Trust. 2000. UNSW Press. 8. Robinson, L. Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney. Kangaroo Press. Ed 3, 2003 9. Carolin, R and Tindale, M. Flora of the Sydney Region. : Ed 4. Reed 1993. 10. Fairley, A & Moore, P. Native Plants of the Sydney District. Kangaroo Press. 1989 11. Nixon, P. The Waratah. Kangaroo Press. 1997.

Line drawings: by L Robinson on pp. 4-8 by kind permission of Kangaroo Press.

Photographs: Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Park Trust, Sydney, Australia Australian National Botanic Garden, Canberra, ASGAP and others as noted

Produced for the Walks & Talks Program of the North Shore Group of the Australian Plants Society. Revised F. Langshaw: 2009.