Pultenaea heterochila explained

Pultenaea heterochila is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is an erect, low-lying or prostrate shrub with hairy leaves and yellow and red flowers.

Description

Pultenaea heterochila is an erect, low-lying or prostrate shrub that typically grows to a height of up to and has hairy stems. The leaves are flat and hairy, long and wide with stipules long at the base. The flowers are arranged on pedicels long, and the sepals are long with bracteoles long at the base. The standard petal is yellow, long, the wings long and the keel is red and long. Flowering occurs from May to September and the fruit is a pod.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1811 by Robert Brown who gave it the name Euchilus obcordatus in William Aiton's Hortus Kewensis.[1] [2] In 1863, Ferdinand von Mueller changed the name to Pultenaea heterochila in Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae,[3] [4] the name Pultenaea obcordata having been used by Henry Cranke Andrews for a different taxon, now known as Pultenaea daphnoides J.C.Wendl.[5] The specific epithet (heterochila) means "unequal-lipped", referring to the sepal lobes.[6]

Distribution

This pultenaea grows in sandy soil over limestone in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Esperance Plains, Hampton, Jarrah Forest, Mallee and Warren biogeographic regions of southern Western Australia.

Conservation status

Pultenaea heterochila is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Euchilus obcordatus. APNI. 16 July 2021.
  2. Book: Brown . Robert . Aiton . William . Hortus Kewensis . 1811 . Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown . London . 17 . 17 July 2021.
  3. Web site: Pultenaea heterochila. APNI. 16 July 2021.
  4. Book: von Mueller . Ferdinand . Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae . 4 . 1863 . Victorian Government Printer . Melbourne . 21 . 17 July 2021.
  5. Web site: Pultenaea daphnoides. Australian Plant Census. 17 July 2021.
  6. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 216–217 . 3rd.