Podolobium aciculiferum, commonly known as needle shaggy-pea,[2] is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and endemic to eastern Australia. It has stiff, pointed leaves and yellow pea-like flowers with red markings.
| Podolobium aciculiferum | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Podolobium |
| Species: | P. aciculiferum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Podolobium aciculiferum | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Oxylobium aciculiferum (F.Muell.) Benth. | |
Description
editPodolobium aciculiferum is a more or less prostrate or upright shrub usually to 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) high with branches covered in short soft hairs. The leaves are mostly arranged opposite, occasionally alternate, narrow or broadly oval shaped, 1–2.5 mm (0.039–0.098 in) long, 3–9 mm (0.12–0.35 in) wide, upper surface shiny and veined, lower surface sparingly hairy or smooth. The yellow-orange pea flowers are borne singly or in axillary racemes and the corolla 5–9 mm (0.20–0.35 in) long. Flowering occurs in late spring and summer and the fruit is a oval to oblong shaped pod 6–10 mm (0.24–0.39 in) long, curved and hairy or smooth.[2]
Taxonomy and naming
editPodolobium aciculiferum was first formally described in 1859 by Ferdinand von Mueller and the description was published in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae.[3] The specific epithet (aciculiferum) means "needle-pointed".[4]
Distribution and habitat
editNeedle shaggy-pea grows in wet locations in sclerophyll forests and rainforest margins, usually in stony situations on escarpments and the coast north of Nerrigundah.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Podolobium aciculiferum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ a b c Wiecek, B. "New South Wales Flora Online: Podolobium aciculiferum". Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.
- ^ "Podolobium aciculiferum". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 126. ISBN 9780958034180.