Kennedia nigricans, commonly known as black kennedia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a trailing or twining shrub or climber with trifoliate leaves and black and yellow-orange flowers.
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 stipules 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 long. The five sepals 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 petal is long, the wings long and the keel about long. Flowering occurs from July to November and the fruit is a pod long.[1] [2] [3]
Kennedia nigricans was first formally described in 1835 by John Lindley in Edwards's Botanical Register, where it was also labelled as "Dingy-flowered Kennedya".[4] [5] The specific epithet (nigricans) means "blackish".[6]
Black kennedia grows on coastal dunes, on creek margins and on flats in the Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographic regions of south-western Western Australia. It is also naturalised in other parts of that state and also in South Australia and Tasmania.[7]
A cultivar known as Kennedia nigricans 'Minstrel' was registered with the Australian Cultivar Registration Authority by Goldup Nursery of Mount Evelyn, Victoria 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.[8]
This climber is noted for its vigour and can be used to cover embankments or unsightly structures.[9] The species is adapted to a range of soils and prefers a sunny position.[3] It is resistant to drought and has some frost tolerance.[3] 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.[3] [8]