Persoonia pauciflora
| North Rothbury persoonia | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Persoonia |
| Species: | P. pauciflora |
| Binomial name | |
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Persoonia pauciflora P.H.Weston |
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Persoonia pauciflora, commonly known as the North Rothbury persoonia, is a plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a small area of New South Wales. It is a small, spreading shrub with bright green, thread-like leaves and a relatively small number of yellow flowers in summer. A recently described species, it is similar to P. isophylla but has fewer and shorter flowers than that species. A very restricted distribution has led to its classification as "critically endangered" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Persoonia pauciflora is a spreading shrub which grows to 100–140 cm (40–60 in) high and 40–200 cm (20–80 in) wide. Its leaves and branches are moderately hairy when young and the bark is smooth and grey. Its leaves are bright green, thread-like, 17–35 mm (0.7–1 in) and less than 1 mm (0.04 in) in diameter.
Flowering occurs throughout the year but peaks in the period from January to April. The flowers are few in number and arranged in groups of up to nine in leaf at or near the ends of the branches on a slightly hairy stalk 1–2.5 mm (0.04–0.1 in) long. Each individual flower consists of a cylindrical perianth that splits into four segments or tepals, and contains both male and female parts. Within this, the central style is surrounded by the anther, which splits into four segments; these curl back and resemble a cross when viewed from above. They provide a landing area for insects attending to the stigma, which is located at the tip of the style. The tepals are 4.5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) slightly hairy and dull yellow. Flowering is followed by the development of fruit, which are green or reddish-green oval, drupes, 9–11 mm (0.35–0.43 in) long and about 15 mm (0.6 in) wide.
Ecological consultant Gordon Patrick came across the then-unknown shrub in the North Rothbury area of the Hunter Valley in September 1997. What was to become the type specimen was collected in January 1998 by Patrick and Peter Weston, and lodged at the New South Wales Herbarium. The new species was described as Persoonia pauciflora in 1999 by Weston and the description was published in Telopea. The generic name Persoonia is derived from the name of South African botanist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon. The specific epithet (pauciflora) is from the Latin words paucus meaning "few" or "little" and flos meaning "flower" or "blossom" referring to the small number of flowers of this species, easily distinguishing it from others in the genus.
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