Plants of
South Australia
Pultenaea hispidula
Fabaceae
Hairy Bush-pea,
Rusty Bush-pea
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Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 7

Prior names

Pultenaea daltonii, partly

Pultenaea pubescens

Common names

Hairy Bush-pea

Rusty Bush-pea

Etymology

Pultenaea named after Richard Pulteney (1730 – 1801), an English physician, botanist and biographer of Carl Linnaeus. Hispidula means covered with minute stiff hairs or fine bristles.

Distribution and status

Found in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges and the South-east in South Australia, with an old record from Kangaroo Island, growing in dry or moist woodlands and heathlands. Also found in New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Rare in South Australia. Uncommon in New South Wales. Common in Victoria.
Herbarium regions: Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Kangaroo Island, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Small erect and spreading shrub to 1 m high with dropping branches covered in dense rusty-coloured hairs. Leaves alternate, oblong-elliptic or obovate, to 8 mm long and 3 mm wide, apex acute but not pungent, upper surface with a few scattered hairs, paler than lower, lower surface hairy, occasionally both surfaces glabrous. Flowers axillary clusters towards tips of short branches with yellow to pale-orange pea-flowers. Flowering between August and December. Fruits are hairy brown ovoid pod to 5 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.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
 
MSB

3,700 (3.2 g)
30+7-Dec-2006DJD721
South Eastern
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.