''Chorizema racemosum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family
and is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the
southwest of Western Australia. It is a spreading or erect shrub with leathery, linear leaves, and yellowish-orange and red pea flowers.
Description
''Chorizema racemosum'' is a spreading or erect shrub that typically grows to a height of and has many slender, sometimes spiny branches. Its leaves are small, linear, long with the edges rolled under. The flowers are yellowish-orange and red, arranged in
raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
s long, each flower on a short
pedicel
Pedicle or pedicel may refer to:
Human anatomy
*Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures
...
. The sepals are silky-hairy, long, the two upper lobes broad and joined for most of their length. The
standard petal is nearly twice as long as the sepals, the
wings shorter than the standard, and the
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
much shorter than the wings. Flowering occurs from May to October.
Taxonomy and naming
This species was first formally described in 1844 by
Carl Meissner who gave it the name ''Dichosema racemosum'' in
Lehmann's ''
Plantae Preissianae
''Plantae preissianae sive enumeratio plantarum quas in australasia occidentali et meridionali-occidentali annis 1838-1841 collegit Ludovicus Preiss'', more commonly known as ''Plantae preissianae'', is a book written by Johann Georg Christian Leh ...
'' from specimens collected near
Albany.
In 1992,
Joan M. Taylor and
Michael Crisp transferred the species to ''Chorizema'' as ''C. racemosum'' in ''
Australian Systematic Botany''.
In 1848, Meissner transferred the species to ''Chorizema'' as ''C. ericifolium'' in a later edition of ''Plantae Preissianae'', but that name was
illegitimate because it has already been used for a different species by
Pierre Bosserdet.
Distribution and habitat
''Chorizema racemosum'' grows on flats, undulating plains and near watercourses from
Exmouth
Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter.
In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...
to
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
and inland as far as
Meekatharra in the
Avon Wheatbelt,
Carnarvon,
Coolgardie,
Gascoyne
The Gascoyne region is one of the nine administrative regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gasc ...
,
Geraldton Sandplains,
Jarrah Forest
Jarrah forest is tall open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is ''Eucalyptus marginata'' (jarrah). The ecosystem occurs only in the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. It is most common in the biogeographic region named in ...
,
Murchison,
Swan Coastal Plain
The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...
and
Yalgoo bioregions of southern Western Australia.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15528792
racemosum
Fabales of Australia
Flora of Western Australia
Plants described in 1844
Taxa named by Carl Meissner