Lambertia formosa
Lambertia formosa, commonly known as mountain devil, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae. First described in 1798 by English botanist James Edward Smith, it is the type species of the small genus Lambertia. It gains its common name from the horned woody follicles, which were used to make small devil-figures.
About Lambertia formosa in brief
Lambertia formosa, commonly known as mountain devil, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae, endemic to New South Wales, Australia. First described in 1798 by English botanist James Edward Smith, it is the type species of the small genus Lambertia. It is generally found in heathland or open forest, growing in sandstone-based soils. It grows as a multistemmed shrub to around 2 m with a woody base known as a lignotuber, from which it regrows after bushfire. It has stiff narrow leaves, and the pink to red flowerheads, made up of seven individual tubular flowers, generally appear in spring and summer. It gains its common name from the horned woody follicles, which were used to make small devil-figures. The flowers hold profuse amounts of nectar and are pollinated by honeyeaters. L. formosa is uncommon in cultivation, but it is straightforward to grow in soils with good drainage and a partly shaded to sunny aspect.
Unlike all other members of the Lambertia, L. formosa is greatly resistant to the soil pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi. No subspecies are recognised, although plants in the southern part of its range from Bargo River to Braidwood have longer leaves. They are found on the Great Dividing Range from north of Redwood to Port Stephens, as well as northern Grafton and some parts of northern South Wales and northern NSW. These are thought to have been obtained from vegetation currently known as the Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub that occurs in sandy areas near present-day La Perouse. The specific name formosa is the Latin adjective for ‘handsome’ and is the only one found in eastern Australia as the others are all restricted to southwest Western Australia.
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This page is based on the article Lambertia formosa published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 06, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
