About Persoonia laurina Pers.
Persoonia laurina grows as an upright or sprawling shrub, reaching 0.2 to 2 metres (7+3⁄4 inches to 6 feet 6+3⁄4 inches) in height. Its new growth is covered in dense grey to rusty-brown hairs. Flowering occurs between November and January. Unlike most other members of the Persoonia genus, seedlings of this species produce only two cotyledon leaves. All three subspecies of Persoonia laurina resprout from a woody lignotuber after bushfire. Subspecies laurina has an estimated lifespan of 50 to 100 years. Aboriginal people traditionally used the bark of this plant to soak fishing lines and toughen them. Indigenous people living on the Beecroft Peninsula ate its drupes, though they did not value these drupes as highly as the drupes of Persoonia lanceolata. Persoonia laurina is an attractive plant with horticultural potential. Successful cultivation is most likely to require well-drained soil, a position in full sun or dappled shade, and acidic soil. It is hardy to frosts. However, cultivated plants tend to be short-lived: plants grown at Mount Annan Botanic Gardens survived for a maximum of six years after being planted out. This species is difficult to propagate from seed, but can be propagated more easily from cuttings taken from new growth.
