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Coast Swainson's Pea

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Cost Swainson's Pea photos

Scientific Name:Swainsonia lessertiifolia
Coast Swainson’s Pea plant
Coast Swainson's Pea plant
Photo: J A Brown

Status:

Native to South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.

Plant Description:

Herb with erect or ascending stems and leaves comprised of 9-21 leaflets of oblong to
elliptic shape and each 1-2 cm long and 4-8 mm wide.

Flowers purple, 12-25 in racemes on stiff hairy stems. Calyx (leafy ring of bracts surrounding the petals) black and hairy. Flowers consist of a standard (large flat petal) 12-14 mm broad, two narrow wings petals and a keel (boat-shaped fusion of two petals). Fruit is an ovoid or oblong pod 1.5-3 cm long and 5-8 mm wide.

Habitat:

Frequent on sand dunes along the coast from the South Australian border to Wilson’s Promontory.

Comments:

The Swainson’s Peas are a rather large group of plants with 18 representatives currently recognised in Victoria. Some species, other than Coast Swainson’s Pea can occur on clay flats in inland parts and appear to have at least some salt tolerance.

Coast Swainson's Pea Photos

Flowers of Swainson’s Pea
Flowers of Swainson's Pea
Photo: J A Brown
Leaves of Coast Swainson’s Pea
Leaves of Coast Swainson's Pea
Photo: J A Brown

Coast Swainson’s Pea plants
Coast Swainson's Pea plants
Photo: J A Brown

Pods of Swainson’s Pea
Pods of Swainson's Pea

Photo: J A Brown

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