Callistachys lanceolata

Callistachys lanceolata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Genus:	Callistachys
Species:	C. lanceolota
Binomial name
Callistachys lanceolata Vent.

Callistachys lanceolata, commonly known as the Wonnich or Native Willow, is a species of tree that is native to the South West of Australia. C. lanceolota has the synonym Oxylobium lanceolatum.^[1]

Habit

An erect evergreen tree or shrub with a height of 1.5 metres (5 ft) to 7 metres (23 ft).^[2] The plant has conspicuous and attractive inflorescence composed of racemes with yellow flowers. The plant flowers through the spring time between the months of September to January.^[3] The leaves of the plant are leathery and are arranged in whorls, most typically with three leaves per whorl. The leaves are generally regular in shape between 40 millimetres (2 in) to 170 millimetres (7 in) in length and 4 millimetres (0 in) to 30 millimetres (1 in) in width and have pointed tips.^[4]

Range

C. lanceolota occurs in the South West corner and South Coast of Western Australia. It grows well in sandy soils in areas that are damp, particularly along watercourses, swamps and culverts.^[2]

Classification

The species was first formally described by the botanist Étienne Pierre Ventenat in 1805 work Jardin de la Malmaison .^[5] Several synonyms exist for the species, including Chorozema callistachys as described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1863 in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae; Oxylobium callistachys by George Bentham in 1864 in Flora Australiensis and Oxylobium lanceolatum by Karel Domin in 1923 in New Additions to the Flora of Western Australia.

Cultivation

Seeds can be collected from the plant but the pods the seeds are found in should be left to dry on the plant before they are broken open. The seeds should be scarified before sowing.^[6]

References