Persoonia, commonly known as geebungs[2] or snottygobbles,[3][4] 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 leaves and usually yellow flowers arranged along a
raceme, each flower with a leaf or scale leaf at the base. The fruit is a
drupe.
Description
Persoonias are usually shrubs, sometimes small trees and usually have smooth bark. The adult leaves are
simple, usually arranged alternately but sometimes in opposite pairs, or in
whorls of three or four. If a
petiole is present, it is short. The flowers are arranged singly or in racemes, usually of a few flowers, either in leaf
axils or on the ends of the branches. Sometimes the raceme continues to grow into a leafy shoot. The
tepals are free from each other except near their base, have their tips rolled back and are usually yellow. There is a single
stigma on top of the ovary and surrounded by four
stamens. The fruit is a drupe containing one or two seeds.[3][5][6]
The term geebung is derived from the
Dharug language word geebung, while the
Wiradjuri term was jibbong.[10] The
etymology of "snottygobble" is more obscure. The English Dialect Dictionary published in 1904 lists snotergob, snot-gob and snotty-gobble as "the fruit of the yew-tree, Taxus baccata" noting that "children devour quantities of the red part of these berries, which they call snotty-gobbles, and suffer no ill-effects".[11] The pulp around the hard stone in the drupes of Persoonia is edible although "the operation is a little like nibbling sweet cotton wool".[12]
Molecular hylogenetic studies indicate that Toronia, Garnieria and Acidonia all lie within the large genus Persoonia.[13]
Distribution and habitat
Species of Persoonia are
endemic to Australia, with one species, Persoonia toru found in New Zealand. In Australia, they are widespread in non-arid regions. One species, P. pertinax, is found only in the
Great Victoria Desert, while a few other species venture into the arid zone, but most are concentrated in the subtropical to temperate parts of south eastern and south western Australia, including Tasmania.
Most species are plants of well-drained, acid, sandy or sandstone-based soils that are low in nutrients, although one, Persoonia graminea, grows in swampy habitats. Three species (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 unusual. The greatest diversity of species is found in areas with soils derived from sandstones and granites.
^Wright, Joseph (1905). The English Dialect Dictionary (Volume V). Amen Corner, London: Henry Frowde. p. 594.
^Crib, Alan B.; Crib, Joan W. (1980). Wild food in Australia. Sydney: Collins. p. 49.
ISBN0006344364.
^Holmes, G. D., Weston, P. H., Murphy, D. J., Connelly, C., & Cantrill, D. J. (2018). The genealogy of geebungs: phylogenetic analysis of Persoonia (Proteaceae) and related genera in subfamily Persoonioideae. Australian Systematic Botany, 31(2), 166-189.
^Maynard, Glynn V. (1995). "Pollinators of Australian Proteaceae". In McCarthy, Patrick (ed.).
Flora of Australia(PDF). Vol. 16. Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study. pp. 30–33. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
^"Persoonia". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
Further reading
Weston, P. H. (1995). "Persoonioideae". In McCarthy, Patrick (ed.). Flora of Australia: Volume 16: Eleagnaceae, Proteaceae 1. CSIRO Publishing / Australian Biological Resources Study. pp. 47–125.
ISBN0-643-05693-9.