Daviesia pachyphylla

Ouch bush
Daviesia pachyphylla in the Fitzgerald River National Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Genus:	Daviesia
Species:	D. pachyphylla
Binomial name
Daviesia pachyphylla F.Muell.[1]

Daviesia pachyphylla, commonly known as ouch bush,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is usually a slender shrub with often arching branchlets, crowded, sharply-pointed, narrowly conical phyllodes, and yellow to orange and dark reddish-brown flowers.

Description

Daviesia pachyphylla is usually a slender shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) and often has arching branchlets. Its phyllodes are crowded with overlapping bases, 12–27 mm (0.47–1.06 in) long and 4–10 mm (0.16–0.39 in) wide with a sharply pointed tip. The flowers are arranged in groups of two to seven in leaf axils on a thick peduncle 0.5–5 mm (0.020–0.197 in) long, the rachis 1.25–6.0 mm (0.049–0.236 in) long with bracts 0.5–2 mm (0.020–0.079 in) long at the base. Each flower is on a pedicel 2.0–4.5 mm (0.079–0.177 in) long, the sepals 3.5–4.0 mm (0.14–0.16 in) long and joined for most of their length. The standard petal is heart-shaped, 5.5–6.0 mm (0.22–0.24 in) long and 6.5–8.0 mm (0.26–0.31 in) wide, and yellow with a dark reddish-brown centre, the wings 4.5–7.0 mm (0.18–0.28 in) long and dark reddish-brown, the keel 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and dark reddish-brown. Flowering occurs from July to October and the fruit is a flattened, triangular pod 13–14 mm (0.51–0.55 in) long.[3][2]

Taxonomy and naming

Daviesia pachyphylla was first formally described in 1863 by Ferdinand von Mueller in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected by George Maxwell.[4][5] The specific epithet (pachyphylla) means "thick-leaved".[6]

Distribution and habitat

Ouch bush grows in heath on laterite between the Fitzgerald River National Park, Ongerup, Ravensthorpe and Munglinup in the Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions of Southwestern Australia.[3][2]

Conservation status

Daviesia pachyphylla is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[2]

References

1. "Daviesia pachyphylla". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
2. "Daviesia pachyphylla". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
3. Crisp, Michael D.; Cayzer, Lindy; Chandler, Gregory T.; Cook, Lyn G. (2017). "A monograph of Daviesia (Mirbelieae, Faboideae, Fabaceae)". Phytotaxa. 300 (1): 281–283. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.300.1.1.
4. "Daviesia pachyphylla". APNI. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
5. von Mueller, Ferdinand (1863). Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. Vol. 4. Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer. pp. 15–16. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
6. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 269. ISBN 9780958034180.