Perennial shrubs with yellow to reddish pea type flowers and simple leaves.
Description:
Cotyledons:
Two.
First leaves:
Leaves:
Alternate or opposite.
Stipules - Small, dry and membranous.
Petiole -
Blade - simple, smooth edged or toothed
Stems:
Circular, flattened or winged.
Flower stem -
Flower head:
Single or in clusters of 2 or 3 in leaf axils. Stalked with dry and membranous scales and bracts underneath. Bracts at the base of the flower stalk dry and membranous, overlapping. Outermost bracts small and persistent, inner ones larger and fall off before flower matures.
Flowers:
Bisexual, with 1 plane of symmetry.
Ovary - Stalkless or on a stalk. Single celled. 2-many ovules.
Style - Terminal, narrow and tapering to a fine point, incurved,
Stigma - Terminal.
Calyx - 5 lobed. Shortly tubular. 2 lipped. Upper lip with 2 broad lobes and often joined to about the middle. Lower lip with 3 lobes, often narrower and of similar size.
Petals - 5. Long claws. Limb of the standard longer than the wings and keel, circular to kidney shaped and often bet back. Limb of wings usually narrowly oblong to narrowly egg shaped. Keel broader and shorter than the wings
Stamens - 10. United into a tube. Filaments in an open sheath.
Anthers - All the same size and shaped, versatile, attached at the back, with an expanded connective. 2 celled, opening by lengthwise slits.
Fruit:
Stalked or stalkless pod. Flattened but not winged. Valves separate completely.
Seeds:
Usually elliptical with a pale and persistent, enlarged outgrowth (funicle or aril)
Roots:
Key Characters:
Leaves without conspicuous reticulate veins
Leaves simple, unifoliate (i.e. with a shortly petiolulate leaflet on summit of petiole) or without leaves.
Flowers yellow, orange or reddish brown
Flowers without a pair of bracteoles or with a pair on the pedicel
Stamens united in a tube or an open sheath, sometimes with one free stamen.
Anthers uniform, dorsifixed.
Pod not winged on upper margin
Valves flat when open or almost so.
From Nancy Burbidge and Judy Wheeler.
Biology:
Life cycle:
Perennial.
Physiology:
Reproduction:
By seed.
Flowering times:
Mainly spring.
Seed Biology and Germination:
Vegetative Propagules:
Hybrids:
Allelopathy:
Population Dynamics and Dispersal:
Spread by seed and intentional plantings.
Origin and History:
All species are native to Australia and about half are native to WA.
Distribution:
ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA.
Habitats:
Climate:
Temperate.
Soil:
Plant Associations:
Significance:
Beneficial:
Ornamental
Detrimental:
Little fodder value
Toxicity:
Not recorded as toxic.
Legislation:
The Wildlife Conservation Act prohibits removal of plants from the wild.
Management and Control:
Manual removal is usually effective.
Thresholds:
Eradication strategies:
Blade plough the area. Burn when dry. Spray with Tordon 75-D after seedlings emerge. Plant grasses and fertilise with nitrogen. Tickle cultivate in the following season and respray after seedling emergence. Repeat until seed bank exhausted.
Herbicide resistance:
None reported.
Biological Control:
Unlikely because all species are Australian natives.
Related plants:
Cactus Pea (Bossiaea walkeri)
Matted Bossiaea (Bossiaea buxifolia)
Plants of similar appearance:
References:
Auld, B.A. and Medd R.W. (1992). Weeds. An illustrated botanical guide to the weeds of Australia. (Inkata Press, Melbourne).
Bodkin, F. (1986). Encyclopaedia Botanica. (Angus and Robertson, Australia).
Burbidge, N.T. and Gray, M. (1970). Flora of the Australian Capital Territory. (Australian National University Press, Canberra). P214. Diagram.
Cunningham, G.M., Mulham, W.E., Milthorpe, P.L. and Leigh, J.H. (1992). Plants of Western New South Wales. (Inkata Press, Melbourne). 385. Photograph.
Everist, S.L. (1974). Poisonous Plants of Australia. (Angus and Robertson, Sydney).
Lamp, C. and Collet, F. (1990). A Field Guide to Weeds in Australia. (Inkata Press, Melbourne).
Marchant et al (1987). Flora of the Perth Region. (Western Australian Herbarium, Department of Agriculture, Western Australia). P239. Diagram.
Parsons, W.T. and Cuthbertson, E.G. (1992) Noxious weeds of Australia. (Inkata Press, Melbourne).
Acknowledgments:
Collated by HerbiGuide. Phone 08 98444064 or www.herbiguide.com.au for more information.