Flora of Australia Online

Persoonia muelleri (P.Parm.) Orchard, Brunonia 6: 226 (1984)

Drimys muelleri P.Parm., Bull. Sci. France Belgique 27: 300 (1896). T: Mt Victoria, Tas., 1883, C.Glover 5 ; syn: MEL n.v. , P n.v. ; photo NSW.

Persoonia gunnii var. alpina Hook.f., London J. Bot. 6: 283 (1847). T: Lake St Clair, Tas., 7 Jan. 1841, R.C.Gunn ; lecto: (Gunn 1237/1842 ) K; isolecto: NSW; syn: K, fide A.E.Orchard, Brunonia 6: 226 (1984).

Erect shrubs or trees 1–5 m tall. Hairs greyish to tawny, appressed to antrorsely spreading. Young branchlets moderately to densely hairy. Leaves oblanceolate to linear-oblanceolate to spathulate to narrowly spathulate, 1.3–6 cm long, 3–10 mm wide, flat to convex, usually with recurved margins, sometimes slightly incurved, spreading to suberect, sparsely to densely hairy when immature, glabrescent to moderately hairy when mature, smooth. Flowers mostly subtended by scale leaves; pedicels 3–5.5 mm long, erect to spreading, densely hairy; tepals 15–22 mm long, yellow to cream, apiculate, sparsely to moderately hairy on outside.

Widespread in Tas., at high altitudes in the north-west and centre, and at sea level on the south coast.

Persoonia muelleri apparently intergrades with P. gunnii in the Lake Dove–Cradle Mtn and Adamsons Peak–South Cape areas (see above). Three subspecies are recognised in the Flora of Australia , but the Australian Plant Census subsequently recognises these as varieties.

(P.H.Weston)

1 Mature leaves glabrescent
2

1: Mature leaves sparsely to moderately covered in appressed hairs
3

2 Leaves lax, oblanceolate
subsp. muelleri

2: Leaves crowded, narrowly spathulate
subsp. muelleri–angustifolia intermediates

3 Leaves linear- to narrowly oblanceolate
subsp. angustifolia

3: Leaves obovate to spathulate or narrowly so
4

4 Tepals 15–21 mm long
subsp. densifolia

4: Tepals c. 10 mm long
subsp. muelleri–gunnii intermediates