Hovea acanthoclada, commonly known as thorny hovea,[1] is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is an upright, prickly shrub with small dark green leaves and purple-blue pea flowers in winter and spring. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.
Hovea acanthoclada is an upright or prostrate scrambling, stiff shrub to high, and needle-shaped, hairy stems, mostly spiny. The leaves are oblong, whorled, flat, hairy, long and wide, margins toothed or lobed, pedicel long and hairy. The bracteoles long and hairy, calyx long with simple hairs. The corolla colours vary, mostly blue or violet with occasional markings, standard petal long and smooth, wings long, keel long. Flowering occurs from July to October and the fruit is a dry, smooth pod, long and wide.[1] [2]
Hovea acanthoclada was first formally described in 1863 by Ferdinand von Mueller and the description was published in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae.[3] [4] The specific epithet (acanthoclada) means "spiny" and "branch".[5]
Thorny hovea grows in lateritic soils in the south-west near Ravensthorpe and gravelly locations near Kalgoorlie.[2]