Plants of
South Australia
Swainsona fissimontana
Fabaceae
Broken Hill 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

Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 3

Prior names

Swainsona fissimontana var. coarctata

Etymology

Swainsona named after Isaac Swainson (1746-1812, an English scientist and horticulturalist who had a private botanic garden near London. Fissimontana from the Latin 'fissi' meaning split and 'montana' meaning of the mountain; referring to Broken Hill, near the location where the type specimen was collected.

Distribution and status

Found in stony, sandy or clay-loam soils on plan or hill-slopes in the northern Flinders Ranges and northward in South Australia. Also found in New South Wales. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in New South Wales.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Eastern
NRM regions: Northern and Yorke, South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Erect or ascending perennial herb to 50cm high with a number of hairy stems arising from a rootstock. Leaves mostly 4-6cm long with 7-13 hairy narrow-elliptic to elliptic leaflets. Flowers pink to dark-purple with 3�11 flowers on a stalk. Fruits are pod elliptic, mostly 15�25 mm long, black and covered with hairs. Seeds are dark brown, mottled, semi-flat reniform seeds to 3mm long with a wrinkled surface. Seed embryo type is bent.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and November. Collect mature pods, those turning black 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. When dried the pods can become hard and difficult to open. 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 90% 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
2,900 (10.63 g)
2,900 (10.63 g)
21-Oct-2008DJD1163
Eastern
20-Jul-2009100%-18°C
BGA3,400 (9.03 g)50+25-Nov-2010KHB442
Flinders Ranges
1-Jan-201290%-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.