Plants of
South Australia
Swainsona leeana
Fabaceae
Lee's Swainson-pea
Display all 14 images
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
Enlarge Map
Copy Map
Copy Map
Display IBRA region text

Etymology

Swainsona named after Isaac Swainson (1746-1812, an English scientist and horticulturalist who had a private botanic garden near London. Leeana named in honour of Mrs Alma Lee for her contribution to knowledge of this genus.

Distribution and status

Found in the northern Flinders Ranges in South Australia in dry stony soil or clay-loam in tussock grassland, saltbush and mulga woodland. Also found in Western Australia. Native. Rare in South Australia. Common in Western Australia.
Herbarium regions: Lake Eyre, Flinders Ranges
NRM region: South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

A small prostrate annual or perennial to 10cm high with numerous hairy stems arising from a taproot. Leaves 1-3cm long with 5-7 hairy, obovate or elliptic leaflets. Flowers purple or yellow. Fruits are small hairy papery pod 8-10mm long. Seeds are brown, semi-flat reniform seeds to 1.5mm long with a wrinkled surface. Seed embryo type is bent.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September and November. Collect mature pods those turning reddish brown and contain hard seeds. Mature pods can be found lying on the ground next to the plant. Place the pods in a tray and leave to dry for a week. 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 viability were high, ranging from 85% to 100%. This species has physical dormancy that need 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
3,500 (6.22 g)
3,500 (6.22 g)
50+11-Oct-2010TST1070
Flinders Ranges
1-Jan-201295%-18°C
BGA4,800 (7.18 g)100+17-Jun-2010KHB433
Flinders Ranges
1-Jan-201285%-18°C
BGA1,100 (1.97 g)1011-Oct-2010DJD1973
Flinders Ranges
1-Jan-2012100%-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.