Plants of
South Australia
Swainsona vestita
Fabaceae
Hairy Swainson-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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Etymology

Swainsona named after Isaac Swainson (1746-1812), an English scientist and horticulturalist who had a private botanic garden near London. Vestita from the Latin 'vestitus' meaning to clothed; referring to its long and conspicuous hairs.

Distribution and status

Endemic to South Australia and found on open stony plains in a very small area around Cooper Pedy. Native. Very rare in South Australia.
Herbarium region: Lake Eyre
NRM region: South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

An erect or ascending perennial to 25 cm high with numerous hairy stems arising from a taproot. Leaves to 10 cm with 7 narrow lanceolate hairy leaflets. Flowers purple at the end of the stalk. Flowering between August and October. Fruits are small papery bladder/balloon like pods covered in hairs. Seeds are brown, semi-flat reniform seeds to 3 mm long with a wrinkled surface. Seed embryo type is bent.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and November. Collect mature pods. Mature pods can be found lying on the ground next to the plant containing hard seeds. 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 two collections, the seed viability were high, ranging from 80% to 95%. 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:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB
8,900 (26.25 g)
8,900 (26.25 g)
50+2-Nov-2010DJD1866
Lake Eyre
1-Jan-201280%-18°C
BGA1,000 (3.41 g)20+2-Nov-2010DJD1874
Lake Eyre
1-Jan-201295%-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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