''Kennedia nigricans'', commonly known as black kennedia, is a species of flowering plant in the family

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

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 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 trailing or twining shrub or climber 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 o ...

leaves and black and yellow-orange flowers.

Description

''Kennedia nigricans'' is a trailing or twining shrub or a vigorous woody climber that typically climbs to a height of up to and spreads up to . The leaves are dark green, trifoliate and long on a petiole long with

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 long at the base. The leaflets are egg-shaped, the end leaflet long and wide on a petiolule up to long. The lateral leaflets are smaller, on a short petiolule. The flowers are arranged in groups of up to fifteen on a peduncle long, each flower long 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 coined b ...

s are long with triangular or lance-shaped teeth about long, the upper two joined for most of their length. The petals are violet or purple to almost black and yellow-orange, 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 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 ...

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 ...

about long. Flowering occurs from July to November and the fruit is a pod long.

Taxonomy

''Kennedia nigricans'' was first formally described in 1835 by

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

in '' Edwards's Botanical Register'', where it was also labelled as "Dingy-flowered Kennedya". 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 ...

(''nigricans'') means "blackish".

Distribution and habitat

Black kennedia grows on coastal dunes, on creek margins and on flats in the

Esperance Plains Esperance Plains, also known as Eyre Botanical District, is a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia on the south coast between the Avon Wheatbelt and Hampton bioregions, and bordered to the north by the Mallee region. It is a pl ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

biogeographic regions of south-western Western Australia. It is also

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

in other parts of that state and also in South Australia and Tasmania.

Use in horticulture

A cultivar known as ''Kennedia nigricans'' 'Minstrel' was registered with the

Australian Cultivar Registration Authority The Australian Cultivar Registration Authority (ACRA) is the International Cultivar Registration Authority (ICRA) for Australian plant genera, excluding those genera or groups for which other ICRAs have been appointed. It is a committee of repr ...

by Goldup Nursery of

Mount Evelyn, Victoria Mount Evelyn is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 37 km north-east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Mount Evelyn recorded a population of 9,799 at the 20 ...

in September 1985. This cultivar was selected from a batch of seedlings in 1983 and has a pale colouration instead of the yellow, which appears almost white. This climber is noted for its vigour and can be used to cover embankments or unsightly structures. The species is adapted to a range of soils and prefers a sunny position. It is resistant to drought and has some frost tolerance. The species can be propagated by scarified seed or cuttings of semi-mature growth, while the cultivar requires propagation from cuttings to remain true to type.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6389568 nigricans Fabales of Australia Rosids of Western Australia Garden plants Plants described in 1835