Pultenaea villosa

Hairy bush-pea
In the Royal National Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Genus:	Pultenaea
Species:	P. villosa
Binomial name
Pultenaea villosa Willd.[1]
Synonyms[1]
? Pultenaea lanata A.Cunn. ex Benth. Pultenaea racemulosa DC. Pultenaea villosa var. lanata (A.Cunn. ex Benth.) Domin Pultenaea villosa Willd. var. villosa

Habit in Mount Coot-tha Botanic Garden

Pultenaea villosa, commonly known as hairy bush-pea,[2] 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 0.25–2.5 m (9.8 in – 8 ft 2.4 in) high and 3 m (9.8 ft) wide, with softly-hairy foliage and sometimes with weeping branches. The leaves are arranged alternately, narrow elliptic to linear, oblong to club-shaped, mostly 3–10 mm (0.12–0.39 in) long and 1.5–3.0 mm (0.059–0.118 in) wide with stipules 1–4 mm (0.039–0.157 in) long pressed against the stem at the base. The flowers are 5–12 mm (0.20–0.47 in) long, arranged in small groups near the ends of branches, each flower on a pedicel 1–4 mm (0.039–0.157 in) long. The sepals are 3.5–11 mm (0.14–0.43 in) long with bracteoles 3.4–5.3 mm (0.13–0.21 in) long usually attached to the sepal tube. The standard petal is yellow to orange with reddish brown lines and 8.2–10.3 mm (0.32–0.41 in) long, the wings yellow to orange and 8.2–9.2 mm (0.32–0.36 in) long, and the keel reddish-brown and 7.6–8.7 mm (0.30–0.34 in) long. Flowering mainly occurs from August to November and the fruit is an inflated pod 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long.[2][3][4][5][6]

Taxonomy

Pultenaea villosa was first formally described in 1799 by Carl Ludwig Willdenow in the fourth edition of the Species Plantarum.[7][8] The specific epithet (villosa) means "with long, soft hairs".[9]

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.[2][3]

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.[5]

References

1. "Pultenaea villosa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
2. "Pultenaea villosa". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
3. de Kok, Rogier (2002). "A revision of Pultenaea (Fabaceae) 1. Species with ovaries glabrous and/or with tufted hairs". Australian Systematic Botany. 15 (1): 111–112.
4. Wood, Betty. "Pultenaea villosa". Lucid Keys. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
5. "Pultenaea villosa - Growing Native Plants". www.anbg.gov.au. Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
6. Robinson, Les (1991). Field guide to the native plants of Sydney. Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press. p. 88. ISBN 0864171927.
7. "Pultenaea villosa". APNI. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
8. Willdenow, Carl L. (1799). Species Plantarum. Vol. 2 (4th ed.). p. 507. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
9. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 336. ISBN 9780958034180.