Kennedia

Location & distribution maps

Plant  information

Common name:         ...

Conservation status: ...

Etymology:   

• The name Kennedia honours John Kennedy, a partner in the firm of nurserymen, Lee and Kennedy of Hammersmith, London

Flowers:                  

• The flowers are arranged in leaf axils, relatively large and showy, red, blue, violet or almost black with stipule-like bracts at the base but that sometimes fall of as the flowers open

• The five sepals are joined to form a bell-shaped tube with five teeth about the same length as the tube, the upper two partly fused

• The standard petal is more or less round, the wings are sickle-shaped and the keel curves inwards

• Nine of the lower stamens are fused into an open sheath and the style is thread-like

Fruit:                         

• The fruit is a flattened or cylindrical pod

Leaves:         

• They usually have softly-hairy foliage 

• The leaves are arranged alternately along the stems and are usually trifoliate with stipules at the base of the petiole and small stipellae at the base of the leaflets

Stem & branches: 

• A stem that is woody at the base

Roots:         

Habit:        

• Plants in this genus are prostrate or climbing perennials with trifoliate leaves and large, showy, pea-like flowers

Habitat:   

Distribution:                  

• Endemic to Australia

• There are species in all Australian states

Species:                     

• World:           13

• Australia:     13

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • Kennedia is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family Fabaceae 

  • The genus Kennedia was first formally described in 1805 by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in his book, Jardin de la Malmaison

• Species list

• The following is a list of Kennedia species accepted by the Australian Plant Census as of October 2021:

  • • 1. Kennedia beckxiana – Cape Arid kennedia (W.A.)

      2. Kennedia carinata (W.A.)

      3. Kennedia coccinea – coral vine (W.A.)

         • Kennedia coccinea subsp. calcaria 

         • Kennedia coccinea subsp. coccinea

         • Kennedia coccinea subsp. esotera 

      4. Kennedia glabrata – Northcliffe kennedia (W.A.)

      5. Kennedia lateritia W.A., (possibly naturalised in Vic.)

      6. Kennedia microphylla (W.A.)

      7. Kennedia nigricans – black coral pea (W.A., possibly naturalised in S.A. and Tas.)

      8. Kennedia procurrens – purple running pea (Qld., N.S.W.)

      9. Kennedia prorepens (W.A., N.T., S.A., Qld.)

      10. Kennedia prostrata – running postman (W.A., S.A., N.S.W., Vic., Tas.)

      11. Kennedia retrorsa (N.S.W.)

      12. Kennedia rubicunda – dusky coral pea (Qld., N.S.W., Vic.)

      13. Kennedia stirlingii – bushy kennedia (W.A.)

• Use in horticulture

  • Kennedias are frost-tolerant with a preference for light, well-drained soil in full sun

  • Once established they will spread into shaded areas

  • Western Australian species are heat-tolerant and make good covers for sheds, fences and walls with support

  • Many kennedias are vigorous climbers; K. rubicunda (commonly used in revegetation projects around Sydney, where it is indigenous) and K. nigricans can cover up to five metres of wall from tube in nine months

  • The most popular species in cultivation, K. prostrata, is a much less vigorous groundcover plant

  • They are propagated from seed during spring; in the warmer summer months they are easily propagated from cuttings

  • This robust genus can be heavily cut back after flowering to prevent invasive growth

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedia (2023)