''Kennedia coccinea'', commonly known as coral vine,
is a species of flowering plant in the family
Fabaceae 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 else ...
to the south-west of
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
. It is a twining, climbing or prostrate shrub with
trifoliate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...
leaves and orange-pink, red and pink, pea-like flowers.
Description
''Kennedia coccinea'' is a twining, climbing or prostrate shrub, with stems up to in diameter covered with white to ginger-coloured hairs. The leaves are trifoliate, the end leaflet long and wide, the lateral leaflets smaller. The leaves are a darker green on the upper surface than the lower and are on a
petiole long, each leaflet on a
petiolule long. The
stipule
In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...
s at the base of the petiole are triangular, long. The flowers are long and arranged in groups of between three and thirty 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
...
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 coine ...
s are hairy, long with lobes 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 to pink with a greenish-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 expre ...
pink and 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 ...
red and long. Flowering occurs from July to December and the fruit is a flattened, narrow oblong
pod long.
Taxonomy
This species was first formally described in 1794 by
William Curtis
William Curtis (11 January 1746 – 7 July 1799) was an English botanist and entomologist, who was born at Alton, Hampshire, site of the Curtis Museum.
Curtis began as an apothecary, before turning his attention to botany and other natural ...
who gave it the name ''Glycine coccinea'' in his ''
Botanical Magazine
''The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed'', is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine''.
Each of the issue ...
'' from plants raised "in the neighbourhood of London from Botany-Bay seeds".
In 1805,
Étienne Pierre Ventenat
Étienne Pierre Ventenat (1 March 1757 – 13 August 1808) was a French botanist born in Limoges. He was the brother of naturalist Louis Ventenat (1765–1794).
While employed as director of the ecclesiastic library Sainte-Geneviève in Paris ...
changed the name to ''Kennedia coccinea'' in his book ''Jardin de la Malmaison''.
The
specific epithet (''coccinea'') means "scarlet".
Two varieties, ''elegans'' and ''coccinea'' were described in ''Paxton's Magazine of Botany'' in 1835, and a further three varieties ''molly'', ''sericea'' and ''villosa''were transferred from the genus ''Zichya'' in 1923 by Czech botanist
Karel Domin
Karel Domin (4 May 1882, Kutná Hora, Kingdom of Bohemia – 10 June 1953, Prague) was a Czech botanist and politician.
After gymnasium school studies in Příbram, he studied botany at the Charles University in Prague
)
, image_name = C ...
. All five of these varieties are now regarded as
synonyms of ''K. coccinea'' 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 ...
.
In 2010,
Terena R. Lally described three subspecies of ''K. coccinea'' and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:
* ''Kennedia coccinea'' subsp. ''calcaria''
Lally is a prostrate or scrambling shrub with flowers in groups of thirteen to thirty or more, growing on sand in coastal heath;
* ''Kennedia coccinea''
(Curtis) Vent. subsp. ''coccinea''
is a twining or scrambling shrub with flowers in groups of thirteen to thirty or more, growing in forest;
* ''Kennedia coccinea'' subsp. ''esotera''
Lally is a prostrate shrub with flowers in groups of three to twelve.
Distribution and habitat
Subspecies ''calcaria'' grows in sand over limestone in coastal heath between
Jurien Bay and
Albany, subsp. ''coccinea'' in forest and woodland in a wide area between
Northam Augusta and Albany, and subsp. ''esotera'' in open forest, mallee-heath or scrub, often in disturbed areas, from near
Eneabba to Albany and
Israelite Bay.
Conservation status
All three subspecies of ''K. coccinea'' are listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Western Australian government department responsible for managing lands and waters described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'', the ''Rottnest Island ...
.
Use in horticulture
The species is naturally adapted to sandy or lighter soils and prefers some shade.
[ It is resistant to drought and has some frost tolerance. Plants can be propagated by scarified seed or cuttings of semi-mature growth.][
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6389565
Fabales of Australia
Plants described in 1804
Rosids of Western Australia
coccinea
Taxa named by Étienne Pierre Ventenat
Endemic flora of Southwest Australia