Wikipedia / Lambertia
Wikipedia / Lambertia
Lambertia is a genus of flowering plants, belonging to the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to Australia. The genus was named in 1798 by Sir James Edward Smith in honour of English botanist Aylmer Bourke Lambert.
The Lambertias are sclerophyllous shrubs or small trees. The common name, wild honeysuckle, is due to the flowers, which are asymmetrical with a long floral tube and tightly rolled lobes, in red, orange, yellow and green.
Species
There are ten species currently accepted by the Australian Plant Census, nine of which are endemic to the South West of Western Australia and one, L.formosa, is found in the Central Coast, Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands regions of New South Wales.
Conservation
As of the 2025-2 update, six Lambertia species are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with five of them being threatened with extinction. Two species (L.ilicifolia and L.inermis) are listed as vulnerable, two more (L.echinata and L.multiflora) are listed as endangered and one, L.fairallii is listed as critically endangered. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 also lists L.echinata subspecies citrina and occidentalis and L.orbifolia as endangered and L.fairallii as critically endangered.
Habitat destruction, increased bushfire frequencies and the pathogen which causes dieback disease, Phytophthora cinnamomi are the greatest threats to these species.
References