Gastrolobium R.Br. (1811) in W.T.Aiton, Hort. Kew. (ed.
2) 3, 16.
54 spp.
Gr.: gaster, belly and lobos, pod; refers to
the swollen fruit.
Most species restricted to south-western Australia; two in central
and northern Australia.
Sclerophyll communities: eucalypt forest, woodland, heath, dry
shrubland and hummock grassland.
Most species produce fluoro-acetate, which is highly toxic to
vertebrates, including domestic grazing animals. Chandler, G. T., Bayer, R. J. & Crisp, M. D. (2001). American Journal of Botany 88, 1675-1687; Chandler, G. T., Crisp, M. D., Cayzer, L. W. & Bayer, R. J.( 2002). Australian Systematic Botany 15, 619-739.
This shrubby genus was previously diagnosed by fluoroacetate toxicity and small ovoid pods, but has been expanded to include Brachysema, Jansonia
and Nemcia, which are treated separately on this site. © M. Crisp
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Gastrolobium brownii, © M. Crisp
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