''Daviesia alata'' 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 south-eastern New South Wales. It is a prostrate to low-lying shrub with winged branchlets that are triangular in cross-section,
phyllode
Phyllodes are modified petioles or leaf stems, which are leaf-like in appearance and function. In some plants, these become flattened and widened, while the leaf itself becomes reduced or vanishes altogether. Thus the phyllode comes to serve the ...
s reduced to scales, and orange, red, yellow and maroon flowers.
Description
''Daviesia alata'' is a prostrate or low-lying shrub that typically spreads up to in diameter with stems up to long. The branchlets are triangular in cross-section, winged and dark green. The phyllodes are reduced to scales on mature plants but are egg-shaped to linear, long and wide on young plants. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils in groups of two to five on a
peduncle long, each flower on a
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
...
about long. The five
sepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...
s are long, the lobes about long. The
standard Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
petal is orange-red with a yellow centre, long, the
wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...
maroon and about long 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 ...
maroon and about long. Flowering occurs from October to December and the fruit is a flattened triangular
pod long.
Taxonomy
''Daviesia alata'' was first formally described in 1808 by
James Edward Smith James Edward Smith may refer to:
* James Edward Smith (botanist), English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society
* James Edward Smith (murderer), American murderer
* James Edward Smith (politician), Canadian businessman and mayor of Toronto
* ...
in
Rees's Cyclopædia
Rees's ''Cyclopædia'', in full ''The Cyclopædia; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature'' was an important 19th-century British encyclopaedia edited by Rev. Abraham Rees (1743–1825), a Presbyterian minister and scholar w ...
from specimens collected "near
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...
".
Distribution and habitat
This pea grows in heath and forest on the coast and ranges of south-eastern New South Wales between
Nelson Bay Nelson Bay may refer to:
*Nelson Bay, New South Wales
*Nelson Bay, Tasmania
* Nelson Bay, Alaska
*Nelson Bay Cave
Nelson Bay Cave also known as Wagenaar's Cave is a Stone Age archaeological site located in the Robberg Nature Reserve on the Ro ...
, the
Budawangs and the
Blue Mountains.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5241748
alata
Flora of New South Wales
Plants described in 1808
Taxa named by James Edward Smith