Plants of
South Australia
Swainsona microphylla
Fabaceae
Small-leaf Swainson-pea
Display all 28 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 microphylla var. tomentosa

Swainsona microphylla var. minima

Swainsona microphylla ssp. tomentosa

Swainsona microphylla ssp. minima

Etymology

Swainsona named after Isaac Swainson (1746-1812), an English scientist and horticulturalist who had a private botanic garden near London. Microphylla from the Greek 'micros' meaning small and 'phyllon' meaning leaf; referring to the species small leaflets.

Distribution and status

Found in light soils, on sandhills or sandplain, in the north-eastern and north-western region, on Eyre peninsula and along the Murray river in South Australia. Also found in Western Australia, Northern territory, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in other states.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Gairdner-Torrens, Eyre Peninsula, Murray
NRM regions: Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Perennial decumbent or ascending herbs or undershrubs. Leaves variable but usually 5-15cm long, with 15-41 leaflets, each 1-5mm long. Flowers purple, or occasionally pink or white. Fruits are globular to short oblong pod to 10mm long with glabrous, papery surface. Seeds are orange/brown, semi-flat reniform seeds to 2mm long with a wrinkled surface. Seed embryo type is bent.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September 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, at 95%. 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
7,600 (12.29 g)
7,600 (12.29 g)
50+25-Sep-2007MJT82
Lake Eyre
19-Sep-200895%-18°C
BGA21,000 (35.82 g)100+1-Nov-2010TST1092
Gairdner-Torrens
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.