Persoonia nutans R.Br.

Species Naming and Growth Habit

Persoonia nutans R.Br. is an erect to spreading shrub that usually reaches a height of 0.5 to 1.5 meters (1 foot 8 inches to 4 feet 11 inches).

Bark and Branchlet Characteristics

It has smooth bark, and its young branchlets are covered with greyish hairs.

Leaf Morphology

Its leaves are arranged alternately, linear in shape, 10 to 45 millimeters (0.39 to 1.77 inches) long and 1.0 to 1.8 millimeters (0.039 to 0.071 inches) wide, with curved downward edges.

Inflorescence Structure

Flowers are arranged in groups of up to forty, growing in leaf axils or at the ends of branches on a rachis up to 250 millimeters (9.8 inches) long, which develops into a leafy shoot after flowering finishes.

Individual Flower Pedicel

Each individual flower sits on a downturned pedicel 7 to 12 millimeters (0.28 to 0.47 inches) long, with a leaf at the base of the pedicel.

Tepal Characteristics

The tepals are yellow, 8.5 to 11 millimeters (0.33 to 0.43 inches) long, and hairless.

Flowering Period and Fruit

Flowering occurs primarily from November to April, and the fruit produced is a green drupe marked with purple patches.

Common Name and Distribution

This species, commonly called nodding geebung, grows in woodland and forest habitat on the Cumberland Plain, between Sydney and the Blue Mountains, ranging from Richmond in the north to Macquarie Fields in the south.