Pultenaea villosa

{{Short description|Species of legume}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{Speciesbox

|name = Hairy bush-pea

|image = Pultenaea villosa flower (6054072466).jpg

|image_caption = In the Royal National Park

|genus = Pultenaea

|species = villosa

|authority = Willd.{{cite web|title=Pultenaea villosa|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/63199|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=29 September 2021}}

|synonyms_ref =

|synonyms =

  • ? Pultenaea lanata A.Cunn. ex Benth.
  • Pultenaea racemulosa DC.
  • Pultenaea villosa var. lanata (A.Cunn. ex Benth.) Domin
  • Pultenaea villosa Willd. var. villosa

}}

File:Pultenaea villosa habit.jpg]]

Pultenaea villosa, commonly known as hairy bush-pea,{{cite web |title=Pultenaea villosa |url=https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Pultenaea~villosa |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney |access-date=29 September 2021}} is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub with softly-hairy foliage, narrow elliptic to linear, oblong to club-shaped leaves, and yellow-orange and reddish-brown, pea-like flowers.

Description

Pultenaea villosa is an erect, sometimes prostrate shrub, that typically grows to {{cvt|0.25–2.5|m}} high and {{cvt|3|m}} wide, with softly-hairy foliage and sometimes with weeping branches. The leaves are arranged alternately, narrow elliptic to linear, oblong to club-shaped, mostly {{cvt|3–10|mm}} long and {{cvt|1.5–3.0|mm}} wide with stipules {{cvt|1–4|mm}} long pressed against the stem at the base. The flowers are {{cvt|5–12|mm}} long, arranged in small groups near the ends of branches, each flower on a pedicel {{cvt|1–4|mm}} long. The sepals are {{cvt|3.5–11|mm}} long with bracteoles {{cvt|3.4–5.3|mm}} long usually attached to the sepal tube. The standard petal is yellow to orange with reddish brown lines and {{cvt|8.2–10.3|mm}} long, the wings yellow to orange and {{cvt|8.2–9.2|mm}} long, and the keel reddish-brown and {{cvt|7.6–8.7|mm}} long. Flowering mainly occurs from August to November and the fruit is an inflated pod {{cvt|5–6|mm}} long.{{cite journal |last1=de Kok |first1=Rogier |title=A revision of Pultenaea (Fabaceae) 1. Species with ovaries glabrous and/or with tufted hairs |journal=Australian Systematic Botany |date=2002 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=111–112}}{{cite web |last1=Wood |first1=Betty |title=Pultenaea villosa |url=https://apps.lucidcentral.org/plants_se_nsw/text/entities/pultenaea_villosa.htm |publisher=Lucid Keys |access-date=30 September 2021}}{{cite web |title=Pultenaea villosa - Growing Native Plants |url=http://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/gnp9/pultenaea-villosa.html |website=www.anbg.gov.au |publisher=Australian National Botanic Gardens |accessdate=9 June 2020 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Robinson |first1=Les |title=Field guide to the native plants of Sydney |date=1991 |publisher=Kangaroo Press |location=Kenthurst, NSW |isbn=0864171927 |page=88}}

Taxonomy

Pultenaea villosa was first formally described in 1799 by Carl Ludwig Willdenow in the fourth edition of the Species Plantarum.{{cite web|title=Pultenaea villosa|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/469099 |publisher=APNI|access-date=30 September 2021}}{{cite book |last1=Willdenow |first1=Carl L. |title=Species Plantarum |volume=2 |date=1799 |edition=4th |page=507 |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/search/names?product=APNI&tree.id=&name=Pultenaea+villosa&inc._scientific=&inc.scientific=on&inc._cultivar=&inc._other=&max=100&display=apni&search=true |access-date=30 September 2021}} The specific epithet (villosa) means "with long, soft hairs".{{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=336 |edition=3rd}}

Distribution and habitat

Hairy bush-pea grows in forest, heathland grassland and coastal dunes in south-east Queensland and on the coast and Northern Tablelands of New South Wales.

Use in horticulture

This "eggs and bacon" pea is one of the easier pultenaeas to grow in the garden. It can be propagated from seed or from cuttings and grown as a specimen plant or in informal hedges, preferring moist soil in a partly sunny position. The species is frost hardy and has "attractive" reddish new growth.

References