Gompholobium capitatum explained

Gompholobium capitatum, commonly known as yellow pea,[1] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It a slender, erect or ascending shrub with pinnate leaves and yellow flowers.

Description

Gompholobium capitatum is a slender, erect or spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of . It has pinnate leaves with five to seven cylindrical leaflets, each long and wide with a stipule long at the base of the leaf. Each flowers is borne on a hairy pedicel long with hairy sepals long. The flowers are uniformly yellow, the standard petal long, the wings long and the keel long. Flowering occurs from September to December and the fruit is a flattened pod.

Taxonomy

Gompholobium capitatum was first formally described in 1832 by Allan Cunningham in Edwards's Botanical Register from specimens raised by Joseph Knight in London from seed collected by William Baxter near King George Sound.[2] The specific epithet (capitatum) means "capitate", referring to the flowers.[3]

Distribution and habitat

Yellow pea grows in sandy soil in heath and forest in the Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren biogeographic regions of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status

This pea is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Corrick . Margaret G. . Fuhrer . Bruce A. (illust.) . Wildflowers of southern Western Australia . 2009 . Rosenberg Pub . [Kenthurst, N.S.W.] . 9781877058844 . 63 . 3rd.
  2. Web site: Gompholobium capitatum. APNI. 31 July 2021.
  3. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 157 . 3rd.