Plants of
South Australia
Daviesia ulicifolia ssp. incarnata
Fabaceae
Mt. Lofty Gorse Bitter-pea,
Gorse Bitter-pea
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Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
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Oodnadatta
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Wudinna
Keith
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Common names

Mt. Lofty Gorse Bitter-pea

Gorse Bitter-pea

Etymology

Daviesia named after the Rev. Hugh Davies (1739-1821), a Welsh botanist and an Anglican clergyman. Ulicifolia means having foliage like the genus Ulex (gorse). Incarnata from the Latin 'carn' meaning flesh and 'atus' meaning like, referring to the rosy-red to deep orange-red colour of the standard petal.

Distribution and status

Endemic to South Australia and found mainly in southern Mount Lofty Ranges growing on sandy to rich loam soils high in phosphorous, in undulating hilly to mountainous country. Native. Common in South Australia.
Herbarium regions: Murray, Southern Lofty, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Divaricate shrub to 1.8 m high. Leaves narrow-elliptic to -ovate or linear, to 22 mm long and 3 mm wide, upper face convex with mid-rib more prominent than below. Inflorescences 1 or 2 per axil with rosy-red to deep orange-red pea-flowers. This subspecies differs from the other two subspecies found in South Australia in having watery-red to a deep orange-red standard petal, umbellate inflorescence, larger phyllodes and a much larger standard petal. Flowering between September and November. Fruits are brown asymmetrically triangular pod, beaked with the persistent style. Seeds are orange-red with black mottled reniform seed to 7 mm long and 4 mm wide, with a cream aril. Seed embryo type is bent.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and January. Collect maturing brown seed pods from the plant using secateurs or by hand. Plant is prickly so it is advisable to wear gloves. 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 can be average. This species has physical dormancy that needs to be overcome for the seed to germinate (e.g. nicking or softening the seed coat).

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
 
MSB

1,800 (17.85 g)
40-5015-Dec-2005DJD332
Southern Lofty
BGA2,000 (21.65 g)5017-Jan-2006PJA123
Southern Lofty
7-Aug-200665%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.