Plants of
South Australia
Pultenaea viscidula
Fabaceae
Sticky Bush-pea,
Dark Bush-pea,
Kangaroo Island Bush-pea
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 2

Common names

Sticky Bush-pea

Dark Bush-pea

Kangaroo Island Bush-pea

Etymology

Pultenaea named after Richard Pulteney (1730-1801), an English physician, botanist and biographer of Carl Linnaeus. Viscidula from the Latin 'viscare' meaning sticky, referring to the hairy branchlets which are viscid when young.

Distribution and status

Endemic to South Australia and found mainly on Kangaroo Island with a few records from the Fleurieu Peninsula, growing in sclerophyll woodlands and heaths often dominated by Eucalyptus cladocalyx or E. obliqua on yellow soils over laterite. Native. Uncommon in South Australia.
Herbarium regions: Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Kangaroo Island
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Erect shrub to 3 m high with hairy branchlets which are viscid when young. Leaves alternate, to 10 mm long and 0.4 mm wide, linear, flat to broadly u-shaped, midvein prominent only, glabrous and paler above, sparsely hairy below. Inflorescences on stout erect hairy stalk with 2-6 yellow to orange and red striations on front and back pea-flowers forming a cluster at terminal of stems. Flowering between September to November. Fruits are hairy brown ovoid pod to 5 mm long. Seeds are dark brown with black mottled reniform seed to 2.2 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, with a cream aril. Seed embryo type is bent.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between December and January. Collect maturing pods, those that are brown or turning brown and contain hard seeds inside. Place the pods in a paper bag and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the pods with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From one collection, the seed viability was average, at 55%. This species has physical dormancy that needs to be overcome for the seed to germinate. The seed coat needs to be ruptured so that water can enter the seed before germination can occur. Methods to rupture the seed coat include scarification with sand paper or nicking the seed coat with a sharp blade or hot water treatment by immersion in boiling water.

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

1,600 (2.26 g)
30+16-Dec-2015JRG266
Kangaroo Island
55%
BGA190 (0.3 g)20+18-Nov-2015TST1247
Kangaroo Island
2-May-2017N/C-18°C
BGA1,100 (1.58 g)50+18-Dec-2015DJD3301
Kangaroo Island
2-May-201755%-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.
Germination table:
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