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Lagunaria patersonia (Primrose Tree) - A fast growing slender evergreen tree that typically reaches to 30 to 40 feet tall by 10 to 20 feet wide, but is known to get taller in good conditions, It has 3 to 4 inch long elongated oval leaves that are olive green above and gray-green beneath and with 2 inch wide Hibiscus like flowers that are a pale pink fading to near white in the summer to fall. Following the bloom, fuzzy brown capsules form and hang on the tree for a long time containing seed surrounded by white fibers.
Best in full sun but tolerating part day sun as well. Once established it only requires occasional irrigation and it is adaptable to seaside conditions. It is hardy to mild frosts and short duration temperatures down to about 25 degrees F. This is a beautiful and adaptable tree but the possible interaction with the irritating seed fibers (akin to fiberglass) should be taken into account when determining placement in the garden.
Lagunaria patersonia comes from eastern Queensland, northeastern New South Wales on the Australian mainland as well as Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island east of Australian continent. A plant that grows in the rainforest in Queensland, Australia that was long described as a subspecies, as Lagunaria patersonia ssp. bracteata, has been elevated to the separate species, Lagunaria queenslandica. The genus name is in reference to this plant's resemblance to Lagunaea (a genus now subsumed into Hibiscus) that was named to honor Andrés Laguna de Segovia, a 16th century Spanish doctor. The specific epithet, long listed as "patersonii", is named for Colonel William Paterson, a Scottish soldier, explorer, Lieutenant governor, botanist and early settler of Tasmania. The spelling of this epithet has been the subject of some discussion and current thought is that the spelling "patersonii" though widely misapplied, is incorrect and the valid spelling is "patersonia". The name for this tree was originally published as Hibiscus patersonius by Henry Andrews in 1803 in the periodical Botanists' Repository for New and Rare Plants. In 1831, when George Don published his General History of the Dichlamydeous Plants he disagreed with the tree being classified as a Hibiscus and renamed it in the new genus Lagunaria. For some reason the misnomer patersonii became popular and stuck in the nursery trade, especially in the U.S. The irritating seed has given this plant another common name, 'Cow Itch Tree' and it has also been called Norfolk Island Hibiscus and Itchy Bomb Tree.
Information displayed on this page about Lagunaria patersonia is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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