Common name: Soft Geebung
Persoonia mollis R.Br. APNI* 
Description: Erect to prostrate shrub, young branchlets moderately to densely hairy.
Leaves alternate to opposite or whorled, linear to narrow-elliptic to narrow-oblong to lanceolate to elliptic, 1.5–12 cm long, 0.8–17 mm wide, flat or convex, margins recurved to revolute, sparsely to moderately hairy when young, glabrescent to sparsely hairy when mature, smooth to moderately rough.
Inflorescences growing on into a leafy shoot; flowers subtended by scale leaves or leaves; pedicels 1–3 mm long, erect, moderately to densely hairy. Tepals 8–11 mm long, obtuse to caudate, moderately to densely hairy. Ovary glabrous.
Distribution and occurrence: in heath to wet sclerophyll forest, on sedimentary substrates (usually sandstone) or sometimes on metasediments, from the Blue Mtns and Hawkesbury R. south to the Clyde R.
NSW subdivisions: CC, SC, CT, ST
Hybrids between subspecies of P. mollis and the following species are known: subsp. ledifolia and P. levis, subsp. leptophylla and P. linearis, and subsp. livens and P. microphylla.
Text by P.H. Weston
Taxon concept:
| | Key to the subspecies | |
| 1 | Leaves 4–12 cm long, 6–17 mm wide, with recurved margins, narrow-elliptic to lanceolate; plants erect | 2 |
| Leaves 1.5–6 cm long, 0.8–15 mm wide (if leaves >6 mm wide then <4 cm long), with revolute or rarely recurved margins; elliptic to oblong to lanceolate or linear; plants erect or prostrate | 4 |
| 2 | Flower buds, and to a lesser extent young branchlets and young leaves, moderately to densely villous, with spreading, silky-white to copper coloured hairs 1–3 mm long | 3 |
| Flower buds, and to a lesser extent young branchlets and young leaves, moderately silky-pubescent, with antrorse, silky-white hairs c. 0.5 mm long
Back to 1 | subsp. nectens |
| 3 | Hairs on flower buds, young branchlets and young leaves c. 1 mm long, silky-white when fresh, copper coloured when dried | subsp. mollis |
| Hairs on flower buds, young branchlets and young leaves 2–3 mm long, copper coloured when fresh or dried
Back to 2 | subsp. maxima |
| 4 | Leaves 2–15 mm wide, elliptic to oblong or narrowly or rarely linearly so, acute to acuminate or obtuse, with recurved to revolute margins, the undersurface exposed when dried | 5 |
| Leaves 0.8–2 mm wide, linear, truncate to bluntly acute or obtuse, with tightly revolute margins that wholly or largely obscure the undersurface when dried
Back to 1 | 8 |
| 5 | Plants prostrate to decumbent; larger leaves usually >6 mm wide, usually obtuse | subsp. revoluta |
| Plants erect; leaves <6 mm wide, acute to ± obtuse
Back to 4 | 6 |
| 6 | Leaves linearly to narrow-elliptic to lanceolate, 3–6 cm long, acute | subsp. caleyi |
| Leaves narrow-elliptic to oblong, 2–4 cm long, ± obtuse
Back to 5 | 7 |
| 7 | Tepals 9–11.5 mm long; longest hairs on buds and young leaves 0.4–1 mm long | subsp. ledifolia |
| Tepals 7.5–10.5 mm long; longest hairs on buds and young leaves 0.2–0.6 mm long
Back to 6 | subsp. budawangensis |
| 8 | Undersurface of leaves densely covered with appressed hairs; leaves green to grey-green | subsp. livens |
| Undersurface of leaves sparsely to moderately covered with appressed hairs; leaves bright green
Back to 4 | subsp. leptophylla |
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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