Oxylobium cordifolium

{{short description|Species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae}}

{{Speciesbox

|name = Heart-shaped shaggy pea

|image = Oxylobium cordifolium (cropped).jpg

|genus = Oxylobium

|species = cordifolium

|authority = Andrews{{cite web |title=Oxylobium cordifolium |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/108547 |publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=29 November 2020}}

| synonyms_ref =

| synonyms =

  • Chorozema cordifolium F.Muell.
  • Chorizema cordifolium (Andrews) F.Muell.
  • Callistachys cordifolia (Andrews) Kuntze

}}

Oxylobium cordifolium, commonly known as the heart-leaved shaggy pea,{{cite web |last1=Wiecek |first1=B. |title=Oxylobium cordifolium |url=https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Oxylobium~cordifolium |website=PlantNET-NSW Flora online |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney |access-date=29 November 2020}} is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a small, prostrate shrub with long, wiry branches, heart-shaped leaves and orange-red flowers.

Description

Oxylobium cordifolium is a small, spreading shrub to about {{cvt|30|cm}} high with branches up to {{cvt|40|cm}} long and are densely covered with long, soft, straight hairs. The heart-shaped leaves are arranged opposite or whorled, {{cvt|0.3-0.8|cm}} long, {{cvt|2-5|mm}} wide, margins and apex curved downward, upper surface covered with warty protuberances, underside sparingly hairy. The orange-red flowers are borne at the end of branches in racemes, usually in groups of three, standard petal {{cvt|6-8|mm}} long, bracts lance-shaped and taper to a point. The soft, oval-shaped seed pod is covered in soft, silky hairs, sessile, {{cvt|8-10|mm}} long and tapering to a point. Flowering occurs from spring to early summer.{{cite book |last1=Fairley |first1=Alan |last2=Moore |first2=Philip |title=Native Plants of the Sydney Region |date=2010 |publisher=Jacana Books |location=Sydney |isbn=9781741755718 |page=189}}

Taxonomy

Oxylobium cordifolium was first formally described in 1807 by Henry Cranke Andrews and the description was published in The Botanist's Repository for New, and Rare Plants.{{cite web |title=Oxylobium cordifolium |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/rest/instance/apni/539465 |publisher=Australian Plant Name Index |access-date=30 November 2020}}{{cite book |last1=Andrews |first1=Henry C. |title=The Botanist's Repository for New, and Rare Plants |date=1807 |page=492 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/109999#page/121/mode/1up}} The specific epithet (cordifolium) means "heart leaved".{{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=170 |edition=3rd}}

Distribution and habitat

Heart-leaved shaggy pea grows on damp, sandy soils in heath and coastal headlands south of Sydney, Tumut and Conjola districts.

References