Swainsona galegifolia

Location & distribution maps

Common name:         Smooth Darling Pea

Conservation status: ...

Etymology:   

• The specific epithet (galegifolia) refers to the similarity to the northern hemisphere plant galega

Flowers

• The pea-like flowers are borne in racemes of 15-20 white, pink, purple, yellow or orange flowers 12–15 mm long

• The calyx is smooth, shorter than the floral tube

• The standard petal is almost orb-shaped, clawed, up to 15 mm long, 15–20 mm wide, keel 10–15 mm long, apex rounded and slightly lipped

• Flowering occurs in November and December

Fruit:                            

• The fruit is an elliptic-shaped swollen pod, usually 2–40 mm long, 8–12 mm wide, smooth and the stipe often more than 10 mm  long

Leaves:         

• The grey-green leaves are arranged opposite in pairs of 11-29 leaflets on a petiole

• Each leaflet is narrowly egg-shaped, 6–20 mm long, 2–5 mm wide, smooth, apex rounded, notched or occasionally with a small point

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• Swainsona galegifolia is an upright, perennial subshrub to about 1 m high with smooth stems

Habitat:   

Distribution:                  

• A widespread species growing in several different habitats in NSW, Victoria and Queensland

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy 

  • The species was first formally described in 1803 by Henry Cranke Andrews as Vicia galegifolia

  • In 1812 Robert Brown changed the name to Swainsona galegifolia and the change was published in Hortus Kewensis

Sources of information:

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