''Gompholobium latifolium'', commonly known as golden glory pea or broad-leaved wedge-pea, is a plant in the pea family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is a small shrub with leaves composed of three leaflets and which has relatively large yellow flowers in spring and early summer.

Description

''Gompholobium latifolium'' is an erect, glabrous shrub which grows to a height of . Its leaves are composed of three linear to lance-shaped leaflets which are mostly long and wide. The leaves have a very short stalk and are darker on the upper surface. The flowers are yellow and are arranged singly or in groups of up to three in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s or on the ends of the branches on a stalk about long. The five sepals are about long and are only joined near their base. They are lance-shaped, dark green and glabrous on the outside and covered with flattened, matted hairs on the inside. The "standard"

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

at the back of the flower is long and the keel is sometimes greenish but is always densely hairy along its edge with the hairs up to long. Flowering mostly occurs from September to November and is followed by the fruit which is an oval to roughly spherical

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

up to long and wide containing twelve to fifteen brownish, kidney-shaped seeds.

Taxonomy and naming

''Gompholobium latifolium'' was first formally described in 1805 by James Edward Smith and the description was published in '' Annals of Botany''. 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 ...

(''latifolium'') is from the Latin words ''latus'' meaning "broad" and ''folium'' meaning "a leaf" referring to the broad leaves.

Distribution and habitat

Golden glory pea grows in dry sclerophyll forest in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria in sandy soil. It is most common in New South Wales where it is widespread along the coast and nearby ranges. It is uncommon in Victoria.

Use in horticulture

Although a desirable species with its large yellow pea flowers, ''G. latifolium'' is uncommon in gardens. It can be propagated easily from seed but viable seeds are often hard to obtain. The seeds must be boiled or scratched before they will germinate. Image:Gompholobium latifolium1.jpg, ''Gompholobium latifolium'' garden specimen Image:Gompholobium latifolium habit (1).jpg, ''Gompholobium latifolium'' in the

Gibraltar Range National Park Gibraltar Range is a national park in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, north-east of Glen Innes and north of Sydney. The Park is part of the Washpool and Gibraltar Range area of the World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Au ...

Image:Gompholobium latifolium sepals.jpg, ''G. latifolium'' showing the long sepals

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5581271 latifolium Fabales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1805