Wallum Pea Flowers

Jan Sked

September is the season for wildflowers, especially the delightful pea flowers of the coastal wallum country and, although we are still in the middle of winter, the spring display is only a few weeks away. During spring the Wallum is filled with purple and gold. Here are a few of the wallum peas that you will find.

Bossiaea heterophylla Variable Bossiaea This is a little shrub to about 1 metre in height and is rather sparingly branched. The stems are conspicuously flattened when young. The typical pea flowers are bright yellow and brownish-red and are seen in spring and autumn. Pods are 2- 3 cm long on 5 mm stalks. They are flattened and heavily thickened along the margins - almost black in colour when ripe - and contain 4-8 seeds. It is found in sandy coastal areas.

Dillwynia retorta Heathy Parot Pea This is a woody shrub up to 2 metres tall with hairy young stems and sharply pointed leaves that are conspicuously spirally twisted. The flowers are bright yellow and red and are quite conspicuous during late winter and early spring. This ornamental species is found in sandy coastal areas and would make a good plant for coastal gardens, although it is probably not very long lived.

Gompholobium pinnatum Poor Man's Gold This shy little pea flower is a small delicate shrub with fine stems only to 30cm high. Leaves are pinnate with many pairs of leaflets. Inflorescences are loose terminal clusters of yellow pea flowers that occur in summer and on and off all year round. This species can be found in open forests on sandy soils in coastal and near coastal areas. I have photographed it in the Mt. Mee State Forest.

Hardenbergia violacea False Sarsaparilla Vine One of the loveliest native vines when in flower. It occurs in Wallum woodland and dry eucalypt forests and has been a very popular garden plant with a number of cultivar forms available in the nursery trade. The leathery leaves are dark green above and grey-green beneath. The plant is particularly floriferous in spring when it gets covered in masses of purple pea flowers - a sight to behold! White flowered forms have also been found.

Hovea acutifolia Purple Hovea Another purple delight is Hovea acutifolia, which also flowers profusely in spring. Alas, the flowering only lasts a few weeks, but the sight is spectacular. This little shrub grows to about 2 metres in height with spreading branches clothed in leaves that are dark green above and densely covered in rustcoloured crinkly hairs beneath. The lovely purple pea flowers are clustered all along the stems. This is a colourful plant for the garden and, although not very long-lived, it self-seeds readily; so you will always have one of two on hand.

From the newsletter of the Pine Rivers branch of the Society for Growing Australian Plants (Queensland), September 2006.

Illustrations by Jan Sked.

Australian Plants online - 2007
Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants