Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 7, 2014

Persoonia lanceolata, commonly known as lance-leaf geebung, is a shrub native to New South Wales in eastern Australia. It reaches 3 m (9.8 ft) in height and has smooth grey bark and bright green foliage. Its small yellow flowers grow on racemes and appear in the austral summer and autumn (January to April), followed by green fleshy fruit (known as drupes) which ripen the following spring (September to October). Within the genus Persoonia, Persoonia lanceolata belongs to the lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. It interbreeds with several other species found in its range. The species is usually found in dry sclerophyll forest on sandstone-based nutrient-deficient soil. It has adapted to a fire-prone environment; plants lost in bushfires can regenerate through a ground-stored seed bank. Seedlings mostly germinate within two years of fires. Several species of native bee of the genus Leioproctus pollinate the flowers. Swamp wallabies are a main consumer of its fruit, and the seeds are spread in wallaby scat. Its lifespan ranges from 25 to 60 years, though difficulties in propagation have seen low cultivation rates. (Full article...)

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