Common names
Tufted Bush-pea
Etymology
Pultenaea named after Richard Pulteney (1730-1801), an English physician, botanist and biographer of Carl Linnaeus. Trichophylla from the Greek 'thrix' meaning hair and 'phyllon' meaning leaf; referring to the white curly hairs on the underside of the leaves.
Distribution and status
Endemic to South Australia and found only in the southern Eyre Peninsula, on the hills around Koppio and Uranno, growing in hilly open woodland or mallee (often dominated by Eucalyptus cladocalyx and/or Melaleuca uncinata or
Allocasuarina verticillata) on sandy to clay loam to loamy gravel over ironstone gravel or stony quartz. Native. Rare in South Australia.
Herbarium region: Eyre Peninsula
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Small slender shrub to 30 cm high with reddish young stems. Leaves in false whorls at the ends of small branchlets, lanceolate, to 10 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, acute, with a fine tip, but not pungent, concave, glabrous above, 3-nerved, softly hairy beneath. Inflorescence at the summit of short branchlets which are naked except for the whorl of leaves terminating the branchlets, surrounding and much surpassing the yellow pea-flowers. Flowering between September and December. Fruits are hairy brown ovoid pod to 4 mm long. Seed embryo type is bent.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between November 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. 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.
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA | 970 (1.48 g) | 80 | 11-Jan-2005 | DJD87 Eyre Peninsula | 31-Mar-2006 | 100% | -18°C |
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.