Persoonia katerae facts for kids

Persoonia katerae is a special plant that belongs to the Proteaceae family. It is found only in a small part of the coast of New South Wales, Australia. This plant can grow as a tall bush or a small tree. It has smooth bark on its branches. Its leaves are long and narrow, shaped a bit like a spear. The plant also has pretty yellow flowers. These flowers grow in groups of six to twenty-two along a stem called a rachis, which can be up to 160 mm long.

What Persoonia katerae Looks Like

Persoonia katerae is a type of plant that can be a tall bush or a small tree. It usually grows to be about 2.5 to 9 meters (8 to 30 feet) tall. Near the bottom, its bark has small cracks, but higher up, the bark is smooth.

Leaves and Branches

The younger branches of this plant are covered with soft, greyish hairs. The leaves are long and narrow. They are shaped like an ellipse or a spear, with the narrower part closer to the stem. These leaves are about 60 to 170 mm (2.4 to 6.7 inches) long and 8 to 22 mm (0.3 to 0.9 inches) wide. Sometimes, they have a few hairs, especially along their edges.

Flowers and Fruit

The yellow flowers of Persoonia katerae grow in groups. There are usually six to twenty-two flowers on a special stem called a rachis. This rachis can be 30 to 160 mm (1.2 to 6.3 inches) long. After the plant flowers, this stem often grows into a leafy shoot.

Each flower sits on a small stalk called a pedicel, which is about 35 mm (1.4 inches) long. The petals, called tepals, are yellow and 9 to 12 mm (0.4 to 0.5 inches) long. They feel hairy on the outside.

Persoonia katerae flowers from January to February. After flowering, it produces a green fruit. This fruit is a type of drupe, which means it has a fleshy outer part and a hard pit inside, like a peach. Sometimes, the fruit can have a purplish color.

How Persoonia katerae Got Its Name

The plant Persoonia katerae was first officially described in 1991. It was named by two scientists, P.H.Weston and L.A.S.Johnson. They wrote about it in a science journal called Telopea. They studied plant samples that were collected near Boomerang Beach, New South Wales in 1998.

Where Persoonia katerae Lives

This special plant, also known as a geebung, grows in specific places in coastal New South Wales, Australia. You can find it in areas with heathland, which is a type of open land with low-growing shrubs. It also grows in forests that are found on sandy soil near the coast. Its natural home is between the Hastings River and Myall Lakes.