[9] The petiole contains multiple large internal ducts which are filled with a staining material which is secreted during cellular fixation.

[1] Areas that possess a nectary have shield-shaped trichomes (fine hairs) that are grouped closely together.

The non-nectary areas adjacent to the nectaries have fewer hairs that are more widely spread apart.

[11] Below the lowest filaments, a small section of each androecial sector stems into the base of the stamens.

[2][10] The style is clavate at the top (club-shaped), with five radiating stigmatic lobes which are of a white, cream colour.

[7] The fruit of the tree presents as a brown globular capsule measuring two centimetres in diameter on average.

[2][10]  The inner wall is lined with white, barbed hairs that cause irritation to the skin when come in to contact with.

[13] Lagunaria was first discovered by Colonel W. Paterson, who first sent seeds to England while stationed on Norfolk Island in 1792.

[8] It was originally categorised as being a part of the genus Hibiscus, based on a description by De Candolle in 1824.

[1] Some of the features used to distinguish the two include: Early categorisations of Lagunaria placed it somewhere between the sub-families Bombacoideae and Malvoideae.

It was able to be identified as diverging earlier in this tribe's phylogenetic tree due to it producing copious amounts of endosperm.

[18] Synonyms for this name include: On Norfolk Island, Lagunaria it is commonly known as the White Oak.

[1] It tends to thrive in conditions that are humid and wet, and so has been introduced to many tropical locations around the world.

[22] It is often considered to be a pest because due to the injurious nature of the seed pods and its competition with native vegetation.

[28] The insects feed on the leaves, flowers fruit and seeds and suck the sap from the stems.

[31] In New Zealand around the Nelson and Wellington areas, Lagunaria suffers from a fungal pathogen called Puccinia plagianthi.

[32] Wilt disease in the form of the fungus Verticillium dahliae has spread to Lagunaria in the southern parts of Italy.

It can be used as a flower display, hedge, coastal garden,[7] street or park tree,[6] just to name a few of its uses.

Due to it being most commonly found on the coast, it effective a providing a wind-break and absorbing salt spray.

[22][35] It is a hardy plant that can handle poor, dry soil, salt spray, wind and light frosts.

[7] On Lord Howe Island, the Lagunaria Swamp Forest is listed as a critically endangered ecological community by the NSW Government under the Threatened Species Conservation Act (1995).

[36] One of the major threats facing the ecological community was invasion by exotic weeds such as the cherry guava.

[37] Other invasive species include ground asparagus and ehrharta erecta and tobacco bush.

Other threats include wind exposure from lack of protective vegetation, cattle trampling and grazing, edge effects, alterations to water regimes and rodents.

[40] Other activities that have been done to assist Lagunaria include the removal of weeds from the swamp forest and the prevention of garden plants escaping into bushland areas.