Tree lomatia (Lomatia fraseri)
Description
Lomatia fraseri, commonly known as tree lomatia, forest lomatia or silky lomatia is a plant of the family Proteaceae native to eastern Australia. It grows as a shrub or small tree, reaching 8–11 metres high, with highly variable leaves. The cream to white inflorescences appear over summer. It is found in rainforest margins, gullies and heathland in mountainous regions of Victoria and New South Wales. It regenerates from fire by regrowing from a lignotuber. Lomatia fraseri grows as a tall shrub or small tree up to 8–11 metres (25–36 ft) high, though can be much smaller in exposed areas; on heathland in Werrikimbe National Park it is reduced to a height of 50 cm (20 in), and can be 2 m high in exposed areas in Victoria. It has lanceolate to elliptic leaves which range from entire to deeply pinnatisect and are between 6.5 and 15 (rarely 18) cm long and 1 to 3.5 (rarely 5) cm wide. The leaf margins are generally toothed, though occasionally entire or deeply lobed. The leaves are highly variable, and can even be markedly different on the same plant. The upper surfaces are green and glabrous, while the undersides are yellow-green and silky. The individual flowers are arranged in racemes that are up to 12 cm (5 in) long. They can be more crowded than those of other lomatias. These white to cream inflorescences appear between December and February in the species native range, followed by the development of 1.5 to 3 cm long dark grey follicles, which are ripe from April to October.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Proteales
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Family: Proteaceae
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Genus: Lomatia
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