Cone on a plant in its native habitat at Tamborine National Park, Queensland [C.J. Earle, 11-Mar-1996]. L. peroffskyana produces one of the largest of all cycad cones, rivaled only by Encephalartos transvenosus (Jones 1993).

Range map for species of Lepidozamia (Jones 1993).

Common Names

Taxonomic notes

Description

Range

Australia: roughly between Gympie, Queensland and Taree, New South Wales. Found in rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest, i.e., sites where fire is uncommon to rare. Elevations range from sea level to 1000 m. Soils are well-structured loams. Diurnal temperatures range from 19-32°C summer to 6-22°C winter. Rainfall, 1500 mm, is predominantly during the summer (Jones 1993).

Big Tree

Trunk to 7 m tall and 40 cm diameter. Cones may weigh 45 kg (Jones 1993).

Oldest

Dendrochronology

Ethnobotany

A popular ornamental (the type plant was found in the St. Petersburg Botanical Garden!) (Jones 1993). Seeds are large and numerous, so aboriginal use for food seems likely.

Observations

It grows "wild" (in a rather well-maintained context) in the Lepidozamia Grove, Tamborine National Park, south Queensland. Have also seen at the Sydney Botanical Garden.

Remarks

Named for Count Peroffsky, benefactor of the St. Petersburg Botanical Garden (Jones 1993).

Citations

This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
URL: http://www.conifers.org/za/le/peroffskyana.htm
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
Last modified on 6-Apr-2001