Botanical art
Prior names
Daviesia virgata
Daviesia corymbosa
Daviesia mimosoides
Etymology
Daviesia named after the Rev. Hugh Davies (1739-1821), a Welsh botanist and an Anglican clergyman. Leptophylla from the Greek 'leptos' meaning narrow and 'phyllon' meaning a leaf, referring to the species' long narrow leaves.
Distribution and status
Found along a line running from the Flinders Ranges to Kangaroo island, with a few records from the lower South-east, growing in dry open sites on skeletal soils. Also found in New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Multi-stemmed shrub to 2 m tall with ascending, glabrous and angular branches. Leaves linear-elliptic to linear-obovate, to 90 mm long and to 10 mm wide;, dull yellow-green. Inflorescences in axillary clusters with orange-yellow pea-flowers. Flowering between September and November. Fruits are brown asymmetrically triangular pod to 2.5 mm long and 1.7 wide, beaked with the persistent style. Seeds are orange-brown with black mottled reniform seed to 6 mm long and 4 mm wide, with a cream aril. Seed embryo type is bent.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between November and January. Collect maturing pods that are turning brown with hard seeds inside. Leave the pods in a paper bag to dry for at least a week. Rub the pods gently with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the seeds from unwanted material. Store the dried fruit heads with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. Seed viability is usually high.This species has physical dormancy that needs to be overcome for the seed to germinate (e.g. nicking or softening the seed coat)
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BGA MSB | 1,500 (13.2 g) 1,500 (13.2 g) | 40 | 13-Dec-2004 | DJD79 | 31-Mar-2006 | 95% | -18°C |