Gompholobium latifolium ... ?

Location & distribution maps

Common name:         ...

Conservation status: ...

Etymology:   

• The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek words gomphos, meaning "bolt", "peg", or "nail"  and lobos meaning a "capsule" or "pod"   referring to "the inflated shape of the seed pods"

• The specific epithet (latifolium) is from the Latin words latus meaning "broad"  and folium meaning "a leaf",  referring to the broad leaves

Flowers:                  

• The flowers are yellow and are arranged singly or in groups of up to three in leaf axils or on the ends of the branches on a pedicel about 10 mm long

• The five sepals are about 12 mm long and are only joined near their base

• They are lance-shaped, dark green and glabrous on the outside and covered with flattened, matted hairs on the inside

• The standard petal is 20–30 mm long and the keel is sometimes greenish but is always densely hairy along its edge with the hairs up to 1 mm long

• Flowering mostly occurs from September to November 

Fruit:                         

• An oval to roughly spherical legume up to 18 mm long and 10 mm wide 

• Containing twelve to fifteen brownish, kidney-shaped seeds

Leaves:         

• Its leaves are composed of three linear to lance-shaped leaflets which are mostly 25–50 millimetres long and 2–6 mm wide

• The leaves have a very short stalk and are darker on the upper surface

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• An erect, glabrous shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 3 m 

Habitat:   

• Dry sclerophyll forest in sandy soil

Distribution:                  

• Queensland, NSW and Victoria

• It is most common in NSW, where it is widespread along the coast and nearby ranges

• It is uncommon in Victoria

Additional notes:   

• Taxonomy and naming

  • Gompholobium latifolium was first formally described in 1805 by James Edward Smith and the description was published in Annals of Botany

• Uses

  • Although a desirable horticultural species with its large yellow pea flowers, G. latifolium is uncommon in gardens

  • It can be propagated easily from seed but viable seeds are often hard to obtain

  • The seeds must be boiled or scratched before they will germinate

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gompholobium_latifolium (2024)