''Daviesia decurrens'', commonly known as prickly bitter-pea,
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 south-west of Western Australia. It is spreading, erect, or low-lying shrub with scattered, sharply-pointed, narrow triangular
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, and yellowish pink and velvety red flowers.
Description
''Daviesia decurrens'' is a spreading, erect or low-lying,
glabrous shrub that typically grows to high and wide. Its leaves are reduced to scattered, sharply-pointed, triangular to tapering,
decurrent phyllodes long and wide at the base. The flowers are arranged in groups of three to seven in leaf axils on a
peduncle long, the
rachis up to , 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
...
long with
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
s about long. The
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 and joined at the base, the two upper lobes minute and the lower three long. The
standard petal is elliptic or egg-shaped, long, wide and yellowish pink with a velvety red base. The
wings are long and red, 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 ...
is long and red. Flowering mainly occurs from May to August and the fruit is an inflated, broadly triangular
pod
Pod or POD may refer to:
Biology
* Pod (fruit), a type of fruit of a flowering plant
* Husk or pod of a legume
* Pod of whales or other marine mammals
* "-pod", a suffix meaning "foot" used in taxonomy
Electronics and computing
* Proper ort ...
long.
Taxonomy and naming
''Daviesia decurrens'' was first formally described in 1844 by
Carl Meissner in
Lehmann
Lehmann is a German surname.
Geographical distribution
As of 2014, 75.3% of all bearers of the surname ''Lehmann'' were residents of Germany, 6.6% of the United States, 6.3% of Switzerland, 3.2% of France, 1.7% of Australia and 1.3% of Poland.
In ...
'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 ...
''.
The
specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
(''decurrens'') means "decurrent".
In 2017,
Michael Crisp and
Gregory T. Chandler described two subspecies in ''
Phytotaxa
''Phytotaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal for rapid publication on any aspect of systematic botany. It publishes on a wide range of subjects, but focuses on new species, monographs, floras, revisions, reviews, and typification issues. ...
'', and the names are accepted by the
Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...
:
* ''Daviesia decurrens''
Meisn. subsp. ''decurrens''
has strongly decurrent phyllodes up to long and up to wide;
* ''Daviesia decurrens'' subsp. ''hamata''
Crisp & G.Chandler has scarcely decurrent, cylindrical phyllodes up to long and wide.
Distribution and habitat
Prickly bitter-pea grows is found from near
Dongara to
Busselton
Busselton is a city in the South West region of the state of Western Australia approximately south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destination for Western Australians; however, the closure of the Busselton ...
and eastwards to near
Albany. Subspecies ''decurrens'' mostly grows in
eucalypt woodland and forest, sometimes in swampland. Subspecies ''hamata'' grows in heathland and occurs further inland than subsp. ''decurrens'', from
Marchagee to
Brookton and inland to near
Coolgardie.
Conservation status
Both subspecies of ''Daviesia decurrens'' are classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Western Australian government
The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state de ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15532136, from2=Q100451096, from3=Q42740486
decurrens
Eudicots of Western Australia
Plants described in 1844
Taxa named by Carl Meissner