Pultenaea tenuifolia, commonly known as slender bush-pea,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to southern Australia. It is a spreading or low-lying to prostrate and mat-forming shrub with hairy branches, narrow lance-shaped leaves, and yellow to orange and red, pea-like flowers.
Slender bush-pea | |
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Pultenaea tenuifolia in western Victoria | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Subfamily: | Faboideae |
Genus: | Pultenaea |
Species: | P. tenuifolia
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Binomial name | |
Pultenaea tenuifolia | |
Synonyms[1] | |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Pultenaea_tenuifolia_habit.jpg/220px-Pultenaea_tenuifolia_habit.jpg)
Description
editPultenaea tenuifolia is a spreading or low-lying to prostrate and mat-forming shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) with hairy branches up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long. The leaves are narrow lance-shaped, mostly 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) long and 0.3–0.5 mm (0.012–0.020 in) wide with stipules 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long at the base. The leaves are channelled on the upper surface and often clustered. The flowers are 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) long, sessile and arranged singly or in pairs at the ends of short side-branches surrounded by clustered leaves. The sepals are 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and joined at the base with hairy egg-shaped to oblong lobes and bracteoles about 3 mm (0.12 in) long at the base. The petals are yellow to orange and red, the standard petal 4.5–8 mm (0.18–0.31 in) wide, the wings oblong to egg-shaped and 4.0–6.7 mm (0.16–0.26 in) long and the keel semi-circular and 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long. Flowering occurs from August to December and the fruit is a hairy, egg-shaped pod.[2][3][4][5]
Taxonomy
editPultenaea tenuifolia was first formally described in 1819 by John Sims in Curtis's Botanical Magazine from an unpublished description by Robert Brown of a specimen cultivated in England.[6][7] The specific epithet (tenuifolia) means "thin-leaved".[8]
Distribution and habitat
editSlender bush-pea is found in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. In Western Australia it grows in near-coastal areas in the Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest and Warren biogeographic regions and in South Australia from the Eyre Peninsula to the Victorian border. In Victoria it occurs on coastal sand dunes and on the calcareous soils of the Little and Big Deserts. The species is found on granite in north-eastern Tasmania.[2][3][4][9]
References
edit- ^ a b "Pultenaea tenuifolia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ a b c Corrick, Margaret G. "Pultenaea tenuifolia". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Pultenaea tenuifolia". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ a b "Pultenaea tenuifolia". State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ Longmore, Sue; Smithyman, Steve; Crawley, Matt. "Coastal Plants of the Bellarine Peninsula" (PDF). Bellarine Catchment Network. p. 11. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ "Pultenaea tenuifolia". APNI. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ Sims, John; Brown, Robert (1819). "Pultenaea tenuifolia. Fine-leaved Pultenaea". Botanical Magazine. 46: 2086. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 321. ISBN 9780958034180.
- ^ Jordan, Greg. "Pultenaea tenuifolia". University of Tasmania. Retrieved 15 September 2021.