Appearance
"Lomatia tinctoria" grows as a woody shrub reaching 1.5 m high, or rarely up to 2 m high. The leaves are strongly lobed and are around 8 cm long. The white or cream flower heads, known as inflorescences, appear in summer.The common name of guitar plant may refer to the shape of the fruit.
Naming
French naturalist Jacques Labillardière first described this species as "Embothrium tinctorium" in 1805, with the species name, Latin "tinctoria" "used in dyeing", relating to a product in the fruit that can be used for dyeing. At the time, "Embothrium" was a wastebasket taxon to which many proteaceae were assigned. It was given its current binomial name by Robert Brown in his 1810 "On the natural order of plants called Proteaceae". An alternative name, "Tricondylus silaifolius", published by Joseph Knight in his 1809 "On the cultivation of the plants belonging to the natural order of Proteeae", was rejected, after Brown's 1810 description of the genus "Lomatia" was officially conserved against Salisbury's 1809 "Tricondylus".Distribution
"Lomatia tinctoria" is found in north eastern Tasmania, "mostly north and east of the Pieman and Derwent rivers and on Cape Barren and on and Flinders Islands". "Lomatia polymorpha" occurs "approximately south of the Pieman River and west of the Derwent River" but where the ranges overlap, as for example near Lake St Clair, apparent hybrids occur, even though the leaves of the two species are "strikingly different".Cultural
"Lomatia tinctoria" can be grown in gardens, doing best on acidic well-drained soils, and tolerating sunny or shady locations. It is readily propagated from seed or cuttings.References:
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