Montigena

{{Short description|Genus of legumes}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2024}}

{{Italic title}}

{{speciesbox

|name = Scree Pea

|status = D

|status_system = NZTCS

|status_ref =

|image = Montigena novae-zelandiae 13094092.jpg

|image_caption = Montigena novae-zelandiae found in the central Waitaki District

|genus = Montigena

|parent_authority = Heenan (1998)

|species = novae-zelandiae

|authority = (Hook.f.) Heenan{{cite web|title=Montigena novae-zelandiae|url=http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.aspx?ID=181|publisher=New Zealand Plant conservation Network|access-date=3 June 2015}}

|synonyms = Swainsona novae-zelandiae {{small|Hook.f. (1864)}}

|synonyms_ref = [https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1003269-1 Montigena novae-zelandiae (Hook.f.) Heenan]. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 7 September 2023.

}}

File:Montigena novae-zelandiae 348013304.jpg

Montigena is a genus of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It includes the sole species Montigena novae-zelandiae, known more commonly the scree pea, a dicotyledonous herb endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. The plant is small and woody, arising from thin, branched stems that extend to the surface from a deeply buried root stock. The flowers vary from purple to brown, while fruits appear between January and April.

M. novae-zelandiae was previously classified as Swainsona novae-zelandiae until 1998 when the genus Montigena was created based on the morphological features of the plant.{{cite web|last1=Bevan|first1=Weir|title=Taxonomy of New Zealand Native Legumes|url=https://rhizobia.nz/taxonomy/legume|website=NZ Rhizobia: Bacterial and fungal systematics research|access-date=3 June 2015}}{{cite journal|last1=Heenan|first1=P. B.|last2=de Lange|first2=P. J.|last3=Wilton|first3=A. D.|title=(Fabaceae) in New Zealand: Taxonomy, distribution, and biogeography|journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany|date=March 2001|volume=39|issue=1|pages=17–53|doi=10.1080/0028825X.2001.9512715|doi-access=free}}

Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, it is classified as "At Risk - Declining". Its decline is predicted to be from 10% to 50% from a population of from 20,000 to 100,000 mature plants. Further comments are that it is sparse and that there are recruitment failures.

Montigena is one of the four genera of native legumes in New Zealand; the other three are Carmichaelia, Clianthus, and Sophora.