''Chorizema'', commonly known as flame peas, is a genus of flowering plants in the family

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Australia.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Chorizema'' are mostly shrubs or subshrubs, sometimes climbers, usually with

simple leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, fl ...

arranged in opposite pairs, the flowers usually arranged in

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s, each flower on a short

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

lobes are more or less equal, the upper pair broader and partly joined, the standard petal more or less round or kidney-shaped, the

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

oblong and much longer than the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

. The fruit is an oval pod containing 4 to 32 seeds.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Chorizema'' was first formally described in 1800 by

Jacques Labillardière Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (28 October 1755 – 8 January 1834) was a French biologist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the Jean-François de Galaup, comte ...

in his ''

Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse ''Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse'' is an 1800 book that gives an account of the 1791-1793 d'Entrecasteaux expedition to Australasia. The title refers to the search for La Pérouse, who disappeared in the region in 1788, a popul ...

'', and the first species he described (the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

species) was '' Chorizema ilicifolium''. The genus name (''Chorizema'') means "divided thread", Labillardière having noted that the

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s are separate from each other.

Distribution

Flame peas are endemic to the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

of Western Australia, apart from '' C. parviflorum'' that occurs in New South Wales and Queensland.

Use in horticulture

This genus of peas is valued in cultivation for their colourful flowers. Most species do not tolerate frost, and in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

regions require the protection of glass.

Species list

The following species and subspecies are accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Sys ...

as of June 2020: * '' Chorizema aciculare'' ( DC.) C.A.Gardner ** ''Chorizema aciculare'' (DC.) C.A.Gardner subsp. ''aciculare'' ** ''Chorizema aciculare'' subsp. ''laxum'' J.M.Taylor & Crisp * '' Chorizema carinatum'' ( Meisn.) J.M.Taylor & Crisp * '' Chorizema circinale'' J.M.Taylor & Crisp * '' Chorizema cordatum'' Lindl. * '' Chorizema cytisoides'' Turcz. * '' Chorizema dicksonii'' Graham * '' Chorizema diversifolium'' A.DC. * '' Chorizema genistoides'' ( Meisn.) C.A.Gardner * '' Chorizema glycinifolium'' (

Sm. Sir James Edward Smith (2 December 1759 – 17 March 1828) was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society. Early life and education Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He started studying botan ...

) Druce * '' Chorizema humile'' Turcz. * '' Chorizema ilicifolium'' Labill. * '' Chorizema nanum'' (

Andrews Andrews may refer to: Places Australia *Andrews, Queensland *Andrews, South Australia United States *Andrews, Florida (disambiguation), various places *Andrews, Indiana *Andrews, Nebraska *Andrews, North Carolina *Andrews, Oregon *Andrews, South ...

)

Sims Sims, sims or SIMS may refer to: Games * ''The Sims'', a life simulation video game series ** ''The Sims'' (video game), the first installment, released in 2000 ** ''The Sims 2'', the second installment, released in 2004 ** ''The Sims 3'', the ...

* '' Chorizema nervosum'' T.Moore * '' Chorizema obtusifolium'' (

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...

) J.M.Taylor & Crisp * '' Chorizema parviflorum''

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

* '' Chorizema racemosum'' (Meisn.) J.M.Taylor & Crisp * '' Chorizema reticulatum'' Meisn. * '' Chorizema retrorsum'' J.M.Taylor & Crisp * '' Chorizema rhombeum'' R.Br. * '' Chorizema rhynchotropis'' Meisn. * '' Chorizema spathulatum'' (Meisn.) J.M.Taylor & Crisp * '' Chorizema trigonum'' Turcz. * '' Chorizema ulotropis'' J.M.Taylor & Crisp * '' Chorizema uncinatum'' C.R.P.Andrews * '' Chorizema varium'' Paxton

Hybrids

The following hybrids have been described: * ''Chorizema'' ×''lowii'' Hort. ex Rev.

References

External links

* *
''Chorizema'' at Tropicos
Fabaceae genera Fabales of Australia Rosids of Western Australia Endemic flora of Australia {{Australia-rosid-stub