Persoonia pertinax facts for kids

The Persoonia pertinax is a special type of flowering plant. It belongs to the Proteaceae plant family. This plant only grows in Western Australia, which means it is endemic there. It's a shrub that can grow straight up or spread out. Its young branches are a bit hairy, and its leaves are long and twisted. It has pretty yellow flowers that also have some hair on the outside. These flowers grow in groups along a stem up to 60 millimeters (about 2.4 inches) long.

What Does Persoonia pertinax Look Like?

This plant is a shrub that usually grows between 1 and 2.5 meters (about 3 to 8 feet) tall. It has smooth bark on its main stem. The younger branches are covered with soft, greyish hairs.

Leaves and Flowers

The leaves of Persoonia pertinax are long and flat, like a line. They are about 20 to 55 millimeters (0.8 to 2.2 inches) long and 1 to 2.5 millimeters (0.04 to 0.1 inches) wide. A cool thing about them is that they are twisted by 90 degrees!

The yellow flowers grow in groups, with up to ten flowers on a single stem called a rachis. This stem can be up to 60 millimeters long. Each flower sits on a small stalk, called a pedicel, which is about 3.5 to 7 millimeters long. At the base of each flower's stalk, there's either a small leaf or a scale-like leaf. The flower parts, called tepals, are yellow and hairy on the outside. They are about 8 to 11 millimeters long.

Flowering Time and Fruit

You can usually see the Persoonia pertinax flowering from January to March. After the flowers, the plant produces a fruit. This fruit is a flattened, oval-shaped drupe. It's about 8.5 to 11 millimeters long and 4.5 to 6 millimeters wide.

How Persoonia pertinax Got Its Name

This plant was officially described for the first time in 1994. A scientist named Peter Weston gave it its scientific name. He wrote about it in a science journal called Telopea. The plants he studied were collected by Robert Royce in 1956 near a place called Queen Victoria Spring.

The second part of its name, pertinax, means "tenacious" or "unyielding". This name was chosen because the plant is very tough. It can survive and grow well even in the dry, harsh environment where it lives.

Where Persoonia pertinax Grows

This type of geebung plant grows in sandy soil. You can find it in woodland areas near a town called Cundeelee in Western Australia. It lives in two special natural areas: the Coolgardie region and the Great Victoria Desert.

Is Persoonia pertinax Safe?

The Government of Western Australia's Department of Parks and Wildlife has looked at the Persoonia pertinax. They have classified it as "not threatened." This means that there are enough of these plants, and they are not currently in danger of disappearing.