Lomatia tasmanica and Persoonia muelleri propagation and commercial horticulture

A micropropagation method for the rare and endangered Proteacaea Lomatia tasmanica was developed using, micropropagation of the related Lomatia tinctoria as a model. Actively growing shoots of L. tinctoria were collected from the field or from potted plants, disinfected and introduced in tissue culture. A modified woody plant medium plus 1 µM benzylaminopurine and 0.1 µM indolacetic acid appeared to be the most efficient medium for shoot proliferation. Best rooting was obtained by dipping the basal end of shoots in a 1 mM solution of indolbutyric acid. Rooted plants were established in soil. Using the same protocol, a micropropagation method for L. tasmanica was set up from only 8 buds.