Swainsona decurrens

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Swainsona decurrens
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Swainsona
Species:
S. decurrens
Binomial name
Swainsona decurrens

Swainsona decurrens is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to northern inland areas of Australia. It is an erect annual with imparipinnate leaves usually with 15 to 19 narrowly elliptical leaflets and racemes of 20 to 30 red or purple flowers.

Contents

Description

Swainsona decurrens is an erect annual plant, that typically grows to a height of less about 50 cm (20 in) with robust stems often more than 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter. Its leaves are imparipinnate, 5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in) long on a short petiole with 20 to 30 narrowly elliptical leaflets mostly 10–30 mm (0.39–1.18 in) long and 2–10 mm (0.079–0.394 in) wide. There are lance-shaped stipules more than 10 mm (0.39 in) long at the base of the petiole. The flowers are arranged in racemes 150–200 mm (5.9–7.9 in) of 10 to 20 on a peduncle 1.0–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) long, each flower 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) long. The sepals are joined at the base, forming a tube 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long, the sepal lobes about the same length as the tube. The petals are red or purple, the standard petal 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) long, the wings 7–9 mm (0.28–0.35 in) long, and the keel 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) long and about 3 mm (0.12 in) wide. Flowering occurs from May to September, and the fruit is an almost round pod 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) long with the remains of a strongly curved style about 5 mm (0.20 in) long. [2] [3]

Taxonomy and naming

Swainsona decurrens was first formally described in 1948 by Alma Theodora Lee in Contributions from the New South Wales National Herbarium , from specimens collected south of Marble Bar. [4] The specific epithet (decurrens) means "decurrent". [5]

Distribution and habitat

This species of pea grows in sandy or stony soil in the Gascoyne, Little Sandy Desert and Pilbara bioregions of northern inland Western Australia. [2] [3]

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Swainsona dictyocarpa is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to central areas of South Australia. It is a small erect perennial herb with imparipinnate leaves with 3 to 7 elliptic leaflets, and racemes of purple flowers in racemes of 2 to 6.

<i>Swainsona elegans</i> Species of legume

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Swainsona forrestii is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the central northern Western Australia. It is an erect or spreading, single-stemmed annual herb, with imparipinnate leaves with about 13 to 17 narrowly egg-shaped or narrowly ellipitic leaflets, and racemes of dark brownish red to purple or pink flowers in racemes of 30 or more.

Swainsona halophila is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to inland areas of Western Australia. It is usually a prostrate annual herb with imparipinnate leaves with 9 to 13 egg-shaped to broadly wedge-shaped leaflets, and racemes of 2 to 9 purple flowers.

Swainsona incei is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to inland Western Australia. It is an erect or ascending annual, sometimes perennial herb with imparipinnate leaves with 5 to 9 lance-shaped to elliptic leaflets, and racemes of 2 to 30 purple flowers.

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Swainsona pedunculata is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to inland areas of Western Australia. It is a small, ascending annual herb with imparipinnate leaves with 3 to 7 narrowly elliptic or lance-shaped leaflets, and racemes of 2 to 3 purple flowers.

Swainsona perlonga is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to inland parts of the south-west of Western Australia. It is a scrambling perennial herb with imparipinnate leaves with 7 to 13 egg-shaped or almost round leaflets, and racemes of 7 to 10 purple to lilac-pink flowers.

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<i>Swainsona queenslandica</i> Species of plant

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Swainsona reticulata, commonly known as kneed Swainson-pea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to south-eastern mainland Australia. It is a prostrate perennial herb, with imparipinnate leaves with 5 to 15 egg-shaped, elliptic or very narrowly linear leaflets, and racemes of 3 to 7 purple flowers.

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<i>Swainsona similis</i> Species of plant

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<i>Swainsona tephrotricha</i> Species of flowering plant

Swainsona tephrotricha is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to eastern South Australia. It is an erect or ascending perennial plant, with imparipinnate leaves with 7 to 19 broadly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic leaflets, and racemes of 30 or more pink or pinkish-purple flowers.

References

  1. "Swainsona decurrens". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 Thompson, Joy (1993). "A revision of the genus Swainsona (Fabaceae)". Telopea. 5 (3): 465–466. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Swainsona decurrens". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. "Swainsona decurrens". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  5. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 179. ISBN   9780958034180.