''Lomatia myricoides'', commonly known as river lomatia, mountain beech or long-leaf lomatia, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to south-eastern Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with

simple Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: *Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple Arts and entertainment * ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track * "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018 * "Simple", a song by John ...

, linear leaves, groups of white, cream-coloured or greenish-yellow flowers, and dark greyish-brown follicles.

Description

''Lomatia myricoides'' grows as a woody shrub or small tree, reaching high, or rarely up to high. The leaves are usually linear, sometimes lance-shaped or oblong, long and wide and have a pointed apex. They are

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

and the leaf edges may be straight or adorned with several serrations. The flowers grow in groups in leaf

axil A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, fl ...

s, the groups long and usually shorter than the leaves. The flowers are white, cream or greenish-yellow. Flowering occurs from December to February, and the fruits are follicles long containing winged seeds.

Taxonomy

German botanist Karl Friedrich von Gaertner first described this species in 1807 as ''Embothrium myricoides'' in his ''Supplementum Carpologicae''. At the time, ''Embothrium'' was a wastebasket taxon to which many proteaceae were assigned. It was given its current binomial name by Karel Domin in 1921. The species name comes from the resemblance of the leaves to those of the genus ''Myrica''. (The suffix ''-oides'' means "likeness" in Latin.) Common names include river lomatia, mountain beech and long-leaf lomatia. Hybrids have been recorded with tree lomatia (''Lomatia fraseri'') on the Southern Tablelands, with native holly (''Lomatia ilicifolia, L. ilicifolia'') on the New South Wales south coast, and with crinkle bush (''Lomatia silaifolia, L. silaifolia'') on the New South Wales Central Coast and Central Tablelands. Analysis of chloroplast DNA showed that there is extensive hybridization between the five species (''L. arborescens'', ''L. fraseri'', ''L. ilicifolia'', ''L. myricoides'' and ''Lomatia silaifolia, L. silaifolia'') of mainland southeastern Australia, though each is distinct enough to warrant species status.

Distribution and habitat

The range is from the New South Wales Central Coast south into eastern Victoria to the Dandenong Ranges. ''Lomatia myricoides'' is found in moist sheltered areas such as riverbank forests and montane forest, on loamy or sandy alluvial, or on basalt-derived soils. Associated species along watercourses include watergum (''Tristaniopsis laurina''), grey myrtle (''Backhousia myrtifolia''), cedar wattle (''Acacia elata''), coachwood (''Ceratopetalum apetalum''), tantoon (''Leptospermum polygalifolium'') and coral fern (''Gleichenia dicarpa''). Montane trees that ''L. myricoides'' grows as an understory with include broad-leaved manna gum (''Eucalyptus mannifera''), broad-leaved peppermint (''Eucalyptus dives, E. dives''), as well as the shrubs daphne heath (''Brachyloma daphnoides'') and prickly broom heath (''Monotoca scoparia'').

Ecology

It has a woody lignotuber, from which it regenerates after bushfire. Small ants and flies forage for nectar in the flowers.

Use in horticulture

Not commonly seen in cultivation, ''Lomatia myricoides'' grows in semi-shade in situations with some moisture. It appears to tolerate ''Phytophthora cinnamomi''. Joseph Maiden reported that its wood was light and hard, and easily worked.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6669184 Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) Lomatia, myricoides Proteales of Australia