Pultenaea retusa explained

Pultenaea retusa, commonly known as notched bush-pea,[1] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to eastern continental Australia. It is an erect shrub with wedge-shaped or egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and yellow to orange and red to purple flowers.

Description

Pultenaea retusa is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of and has hairy stems when young. The leaves are arranged alternately along the stems, wedge-shaped to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long, wide with stipules about long at the base and often with a notch at the tip. The flowers are arranged in dense clusters on the ends of branches and are long, each flower on a pedicel up to long with overlapping bracts long, but that fall off as the flowers open. The sepals are long, joined at the base, and there are narrow egg-shaped bracteoles long attached to the side of the sepal tube. The standard petal is yellow to orange with red markings and wide, the wings are yellow to orange and the keel is red to purple. Flowering occurs from September to November and the fruit is a hairy, flattened pod long.[2] [3]

Taxonomy

Pultenaea retusa was first formally described in 1805 by James Edward Smith in the Annals of Botany.[4] [5] The specific epithet (retusa) refers to the leaves, that often have a notch at the end.[6]

Distribution and habitat

Notched bush-pea grows in forest and heathland on swampy sites on the coast and nearby tablelands of Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria as far west as Melbourne.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Corrick . Margaret G. . Pultenaea retusa . Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria . 23 August 2021.
  2. Web site: Pultenaea retusa . Royal Botanic Garden Sydney . 23 August 2021.
  3. Web site: Wood . Betty . Pultenaea retusa . Lucid Keys . 23 August 2021.
  4. Web site: Pultenaea retusa. APNI. 23 August 2021.
  5. Smith . James Edward . Remarks on the generic Characters of the Decandrous Papilionaceous Plants of New Holland . Annals of Botany . 1805 . 1 . 502 . 23 August 2021.
  6. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 294 . 3rd.