Persoonia terminalis

Persoonia terminalis was first reported by Lawrie Johnson of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, in the 1981 edition of Flora of New South Wales. He viewed it as a distinctive subspecies of Persoonia nutans, a broadly defined species that included many forms since classified as distinct. Queensland botanists Trevor Donald Stanley and Estelle M. Ross classed P.terminalis as part of Persoonia oxycoccoides in their 1983 work Flora of South-eastern Queensland. They considered it more likely a species in its own right, and is now housed in the National Herbarium of New South Wales, which is part of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Sydney and Office of Environment and Heritage. The Herbarium houses over 1.2million other specimens. The generic name Persoonia is derived from the name of South African botanist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon. P.terminalis has been reported to interbreed with Persoonia cornifolia and Persoonia sericea, two other members of the group. Two subspecies are recognised: P.t.subsp.recurva has shorter leaves, with margins more curved downwards, that reach a maximum of in length, while P.t.subsp.terminalis has longer, straighter leaves measuring a maximum of long. == Description ==

Persoonia terminalis grows as a shrub reaching a height of , with an upright or spreading habit. It has smooth bark, although occasional flowers have been seen as late as July. Flowers are followed by the development of the fleshy purple-striped green drupes. These are long by wide, with the remnant style at the end. == Distribution and habitat ==

{{multiple image | direction = vertical | width = 250 Persooniat.subsp.terminalis is found in the Torrington-Binghi area on the western parts of the far Northern Tablelands in New South Wales, roughly halfway between Glen Innes and the Queensland border, at an altitude of between above sea level. It grows on acidic, sandy or stony granite soils in dry sclerophyll forest. It is rated 2R on the ROTAP list. Although P.t.recurva has not been recorded from Kings Plains National Park, it could be expected to be found there due to the availability of suitable habitat. It is rated as 3R on the ROTAP list. Both subspecies are commonly found near the Severn River Nature Preserve, as well as in the Arakoola Nature Reserve, where they are components of a woodland ecological community dominated by smooth-barked apple and long-fruited bloodwood (Corymbia dolichocarpa), which grows on sandstone soils. == Ecology ==

Persoonia terminalis grows in a bushfire-prone habitat, where fire is essential for many species to regenerate. P.t.terminalis is killed by bushfire and regenerates from seed, which lies dormant in the soil. Large numbers of Persoonia seedlings appear after fire. However, rocky outcrop habitat is vulnerable to fires occurring at too-frequent intervals of less than five years, which puts many species that regenerate by seed at risk of local extinction as plants are unable to mature to set seed before the next fire. Colletid bees of subgenus Cladocerapis within the genus Leioproctus exclusively forage on and pollinate flowers of many species of Persoonia. Bees of subgenus Filiglossa in the same genus also specialise in feeding on Persoonia flowers, but do not appear to be effective pollinators. The fruit are adapted to be eaten by vertebrates, such as kangaroos and possums, as well as currawongs and other large birds. == Cultivation potential ==

Horticulturists and scientists Rodger Elliot and David L. Jones have proposed that cultivating the plant would aid in its conservation. Cultivating the plant would most likely require good water drainage, a sunny or part-shaded position and acidic soil. P.terminalis is hardy to heavy frosts, and is expected to fare better in a temperate rather than subtropical garden climate. Propagation would theoretically be by seed or by taking cuttings of new growth, though plants of the genus Persoonia are generally difficult to propagate by any means in cultivation. == Notes ==