Botanical art
Prior names
Pultenaea rigida var. rigida
Pultenaea rigida var. ovata
Common names
Rigid Bush-pea
Island Bush-pea
Etymology
Pultenaea named after Richard Pulteney (1730-1801), an English physician, botanist and biographer of Carl Linnaeus. Rigida from the Latin 'rigidus' meaning stiff; referring to the stiff leaves and stems.
Distribution and status
Endemic to South Australia and found on the southern Eyre Peninsula, southern Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island, growing mainly along the coast. Native. Rare in South Australia.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo Island
NRM regions: Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Much branched rigid shrub with young branches hairy. Leaves sessile on wrinkled nodes, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, to 15 mm long, very rigid, tapering into a pungent point, flattish with slightly in curved margins, glabrous. Inflorescence solitary, axillary or few in small terminal leafy clusters with yellow pea-flowers. Flowering between September and November. Fruits are hairy brown to black ovoid pod to 6 mm long. Seed embryo type is bent.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between February and December. 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. 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.