Kennedia coccinea

Kennedia coccinea is a twining, climbing or prostrate shrub, with stems up to {{cvt|4|mm}} in diameter covered with white to ginger-coloured hairs. The leaves are trifoliate, the end leaflet {{cvt|11–83|mm}} long and {{cvt|7–55|mm}} wide, the lateral leaflets smaller. The leaves are a darker green on the upper surface than the lower and are on a petiole {{cvt|6–60|mm}} long, each leaflet on a petiolule {{cvt|0.5–3|mm}} long. The stipules at the base of the petiole are triangular, {{cvt|1.7–5|mm}} long. The flowers are {{cvt|9.5–16|mm}} long and arranged in groups of between three and thirty on a peduncle {{cvt|60–230|mm}} long, each flower on a pedicel {{cvt|1.5–10|mm}} long. The five sepals are hairy, {{cvt|5–8|mm}} long with lobes {{cvt|2–4|mm}} long. The standard petal is orange-red to pink with a greenish-yellow centre, {{cvt|9.8–16|mm}} long, the wings pink and {{cvt|8.9–14|mm}} long and the keel red and {{cvt|8–11|mm}} long. Flowering occurs from July to December and the fruit is a flattened, narrow oblong pod {{cvt|25–72|mm}} long.{{cite book|last=Bodkin |first=Frances |authorlink=Frances Bodkin |year=1991|place=Australia|title=Encyclopaedia Botanica|publisher=Cornstalk Publishing|isbn=978-0207150647}}{{FloraBase|name=Kennedia coccinea |id=4037}}{{cite journal |last1=Lally |first1=Terena R. |title=A taxonomic revision of the Western Australian endemic species Kennedia coccinea (Fabaceae) |journal=Nuytsia |date=2010 |volume=20 |pages=202–215 |url=https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/science/nuytsia/596.pdf |access-date=12 October 2021}}

Image:Elegant Scarlet Kennedia from Magazine of Botany by Paxton..jpg Magazine of Botany in 1835{{cite journal |last1=Paxton |first1=Joseph |journal=Paxton's Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants |date=1835 |volume=2 |page=99 |title=Kennedia coccinea elegans |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/187837#page/156/mode/1up |access-date=12 October 2021}}]]

This species was first formally described in 1794 by William Curtis who gave it the name Glycine coccinea in his Botanical Magazine from plants raised "in the neighbourhood of London from Botany-Bay seeds".{{cite web|title=Glycine coccinea|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/520676 |publisher=APNI|access-date=12 October 2021}}{{cite book |last1=Curtis |first1=William |title=The Botanical Magazine |volume=8 |date=1794 |location=London |page=270 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/7356#page/114/mode/1up |access-date=12 October 2021}} In 1805, Étienne Pierre Ventenat changed the name to Kennedia coccinea in his book Jardin de la Malmaison.{{cite web|title=Kennedia coccinea|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/520752 |publisher=APNI|access-date=12 October 2021}} The specific epithet (coccinea) means "scarlet".{{cite book |last1=Sharr |first1=Francis Aubi |last2=George |first2=Alex |title=Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings |date=2019 |publisher=Four Gables Press |location=Kardinya, WA |isbn=9780958034180 |page=1666 |edition=3rd}}

Two varieties, elegans and coccinea were described in Paxton's Magazine of Botany in 1835, and a further three varieties molly, sericea and villosawere transferred from the genus Zichya in 1923 by Czech botanist Karel Domin. All five of these varieties are now regarded as synonyms of K. coccinea by the Australian Plant Census.

In 2010, Terena R. Lally described three subspecies of K. coccinea and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

• Kennedia coccinea subsp. calcaria Lally{{cite web|title=Kennedia coccinea subsp. calcaria|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/228434|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=12 October 2021}} is a prostrate or scrambling shrub with flowers in groups of thirteen to thirty or more, growing on sand in coastal heath;{{FloraBase|name=Kennedia coccinea subsp. calcaria |id=37960}}
• Kennedia coccinea (Curtis) Vent. subsp. coccinea{{cite web|title=Kennedia coccinea subsp. coccinea|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/228433|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=12 October 2021}} is a twining or scrambling shrub with flowers in groups of thirteen to thirty or more, growing in forest;{{FloraBase|name=Kennedia coccinea subsp. coccinea |id=37940}}
• Kennedia coccinea subsp. esotera Lally{{cite web|title=Kennedia coccinea subsp. esotera|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/228435|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=12 October 2021}} is a prostrate shrub with flowers in groups of three to twelve.{{FloraBase|name=Kennedia coccinea subsp. esotera |id=37961}}

Subspecies calcaria grows in sand over limestone in coastal heath between Jurien Bay and Albany, subsp. coccinea in forest and woodland in a wide area between Northam Augusta and Albany, and subsp. esotera in open forest, mallee-heath or scrub, often in disturbed areas, from near Eneabba to Albany and Israelite Bay.

File:Edwards's botanical register (Plate 68) (8411160029).jpg

All three subspecies of K. coccinea are listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

The species is naturally adapted to sandy or lighter soils and prefers some shade. It is resistant to drought and has some frost tolerance. Plants can be propagated by scarified seed or cuttings of semi-mature growth.

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Category:Fabales of Australia

Category:Plants described in 1804

Category:Rosids of Western Australia

coccinea

Category:Taxa named by Étienne Pierre Ventenat

Category:Endemic flora of Southwest Australia