Plants of
South Australia
Swainsona procumbens
Fabaceae
Broughton Pea,
Tatiara Pea
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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
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Wudinna
Keith
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 3

Prior names

Swainsona procumbens var. parvifolia

Cyclogyne procumbens

Common names

Broughton Pea

Tatiara Pea

Etymology

Swainsona named after Isaac Swainson (1746-1812), an English scientist and horticulturalist who had a private botanic garden near London. Procumbens meaning lying along the ground; referring to the tendency of the foliage to spread across the ground.

Distribution and status

Found in heavy soil prone to waterlogging mainly in the south-east region of South Australia. It was first collected in the mid-north but was presumed extinct from the region until recent collections were made from Mt Remarkable and Bundaleer area. Also found in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Rare in South Australia. Common in other states.
Herbarium regions: Northern Lofty, South Eastern
NRM regions: Northern and Yorke, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

A spreading or ascending perennial plant with numerous stems arising from a taproot. Leaves 5-15cm long with 15-25 smooth, linear to obovoid leaflets. Flowers large, purple often with a yellow keel-tip. Fruits are dark brown, narrow elliptic to oblong pods 20-40mm long with a stiff woody texture. Seeds are orange to brown, mottled, semi-flat reniform seeds to 2mm long with a smooth surface. Seed embryo type is bent.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between December and January. Collect mature pods, dark brown containing hard seeds. Mature pods can be found lying on the ground next to the plant containing hard seeds. When dried the pods 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 three collections, the seed viability were high, ranging from 85% to 100%. This species has physical dormancy that needs 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
827 (4.8 g)
827 (4.8 g)
402-Dec-2004DJD61
South Eastern
31-Mar-200688%-18°C
BGA8,800 (59.8 g)5020-Jan-2010TST892
South Eastern
1-Jun-201080%-18°C
BGA550 (3.5 g)20+21-Dec-2010DJD2084
South Eastern
1-Jan-2012100%-18°C
BGA4,900 (24.5 g)20+13-Dec-2018JRG709
South Eastern
24-Apr-201965%-18°C
BGA2,200 (13.92 g)1015-Jan-2020TST1366
Northern Lofty
24-Jun-2020100%-18°C
BGA3,300 (21.280 g)10+1-Apr-2021TST1366
Northern Lofty
28-Jun-202190%-18°C
BGA1,500 (8.84 g)624-Nov-2017TST1366
Northern Lofty
28-Jun-202194%-18°C
BGA1,700 (10.641 g)1-Jul-2021TST1366
Northern Lofty
7-Jul-2022100%-18°C
BGA513 (2.632 g)1-23-20TST1366
Northern Lofty
20-Jun-2023N/T-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.