Plants of
South Australia
Swainsona campylantha
Fabaceae
Curved Swainson-pea
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 5

Etymology

Swainsona named after Isaac Swainson (1746-1812), an English scientist and horticulturalist who had a private botanic garden near London. Campylantha from the Greek 'capylos' meaning curved or bent and 'anthos' meaning flower, referring to the flower's wing that is strongly curved.

Distribution and status

Found in the northern part of South Australia, growing in heavy red or black soils in depressions and along creek-lines. Also found in Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales. Native. common in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges
NRM regions: Alinytjara Wilurara, South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Low growing perennial herb to 25 cm high with glabrous stems. Leaves mostly to 6 cm long with 1-7 leaflets, narrow-lanceolate to narrow-elliptic, to 40 mm long and 5 mm wide, both surfaces glabrous or with a few scattered hairs. Inflorescence a spike with 2-20 pink to purple pea-flowers with strongly curved, crescent-shaped wings. Flowering between May and November. Fruits are elliptic, slightly curved pod to 30 mm long and 4 mm wide, narrowed at both ends, more or less covered with hairs. Seeds are orange, semi-flat reniform seed to 3.5 mm long and 1.2 mm wide, with a slightly wrinkled surface. Seed embryo type is bent.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September and December. Collect mature pods, those turning brown and contain hard seeds. Mature pods can be found lying on the ground next to the plant. When dried the pods become hard and difficult to open. Use a rubber bung to rub the pods or break the pods open with your fingers 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 three collections, the seed viabilities were high, ranging from 90% to 100%. 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
BGA 
MSB
5,900 (12.36 g)
5,900 (12.36 g)
50+30-Sep-2007DJD894
Lake Eyre
19-Sep-2008100%-18°C
BGA18,000 (123.43 g)50+29-Sep-2007MJT128
Lake Eyre
19-Sep-200890%-18°C
BGA 
MSB
2,970 (28 g)
2,970 (28 g)
7022-Oct-2007DJD860
Lake Eyre
19-Sep-2008100%-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.