Geebung - Persoonia levis
May 28, 2023
Geebung outside the Lodge
Near the Lodge can be found this stunning old lady, the broad-leaved Geebung – Persoonia levis. Now that the surrounding Yukushimanum has been pruned the Geebung is revealed for all to see.
Persoonia levis is a shrub native to the Eastern areas of New South Wales and Victoria. It reaches 5 m in height. It has dark grey papery bark and bright green asymmetrical sickle-shaped leaves up to 14 cm long and 8 cm wide. Small yellow flowers appear in summer and autumn, followed by small green fleshy stone-fruit. Found in dry sclerophyll forest on sandstone-based nutrient-deficient soils, P.levis is adapted to a fire-prone environment; the plants resprout from beneath their thick bark after bushfires, and can live for over 60 years. Regeneration also takes place after fire by a ground-stored seed bank. The Longtongue Bee - Leioproctus carinatifrons is a pollinator of the flowers, and the fruit are consumed by vertebrates such as kangaroos, possums and currawongs. Despite its horticultural appeal, P. levis is rare in cultivation as it is very hard to propagate, either by seed or cuttings.
“Geebung” is Aboriginal name for the succulent fruit, which is a traditional source of food across much of the Australian continent. The fruit pulp is chewed off the hard stone as a snack. It is described as tasting like “sweet cotton wool”. (Cribb & Cribb, 1974).
Bark of the Geebung