Pultenaea 

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids  > Fabids > Fabales > Fabaceae > Faboideae >  Pultenaea 

Other links:     

Plant  information

Common name:                unknown  

Conservation status:  unknown

Etymology:   

• The genus is named in honour of Richard Pulteney, an English surgeon and botanist, who also was the biographer of Linnaeus

Flowers:                  

• Usually orange or yellow with red marking 

• Usually arranged in leaf axils

• Often in a condensed raceme near the ends of branchlets

• There are bracts that are sometimes replaced by enlarged leaf stipules and the bracteoles are usually attached to the base of the sepal tube

• The standard petal is equal in length or only slightly longer than the keel and wings

• All ten stamens are free from each other,

• The ovary is usually sessile 

Fruit:                         

• The fruit is a small, egg-shaped pod with the remains of the style attached

Leaves:         

• Simple leaves usually arranged alternately

• Usually with papery stipules

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• Erect to low-lying or prostrate shrubs

Habitat:   

Distribution:                  

• Occurs in all Australian states and the ACT but not the Northern Territory

Species:                     

• World:            

• Australia:      

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • The genus Pultenaea was first formally described by botanist James Edward Smith in 1794 in A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland

  • The first species he described was P. stipularis from a living specimen raised in Stockwell, England from seed obtained from NSW in 1792

• Species list

  • See List of Pultenaea species in Wikipedia

• Phylogeny

  • Pultenaea belongs to the Mirbelioid clade of the legume subfamily Faboideae. Pultenaea is paraphyletic with respect to several of the other mirbelioid genera

  • The genus is not considered to be monophyletic with suggestions of splitting it into six separate subgenera, under a larger genus of Pultenaea sensu lato, which would include 19 out of 25 genera included in the former tribe Mirbelieae

• Speciation

• The Mirbelioids have had long isolation in Australia from other Fabaceae families. Pultenaea Sm. underwent explosive starburst radiation during the late Miocene, due to aridity

• Geographic speciation factors include east vs. west endemism due to increased aridity and the development of the Nullarbor Plain; subgenera Pultenaea and Corrickosa of eastern Australia split along the Winter–Summer rainfall boundary; subclades within Corrickosa diverged due to marine incursions between South Australia and Victoria

• Western Australian species include disjunctions between north and south, and Esperance/Cape Arid. Recent extinctions, possibly due to changed fire regimes and grazing pressure, include P. elusa and P. maidenii

• Use in horticulture

  • A number of species are cultivated for their spring flower display

  • Most of these are fast-growing and adaptable to diverse growing conditions

  • Propagation is from semi-mature cuttings or seed pre-treated by soaking in hot water

• Three cultivars are registered with the Australian Cultivar Registration Authority:

  • Pultenaea pedunculata 'Pyalong Gold'

  • Pultenaea pedunculata 'Pyalong Pink'

  • Pultenaea villosa 'Wallum Gold'—a prostrate form

Sources of information:

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