''Podolobium alpestre'', commonly known as alpine shaggy-pea, is a flowering plant 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 south-eastern Australia. It has oblong to egg-shaped leaves and yellow to orange pea-like flowers with red markings.

Description

''Podolobium alpestre'' is an ascending or low spreading shrub to high with young stems covered in soft, short hairs. The leaves are arranged in whorls of three or opposite, egg-shaped to broad-oblong, long and wide. The pea-shaped flowers are borne in terminal or axillary

racemes A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, 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 produced as the shoo ...

are yellow-orange, pea-shaped, occasionally with red markings on a silky

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 ...

long. The

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s are lance shaped or narrow, tapering to a point and long. Flowering occurs from November to February and the fruit is an oval shaped pod long with numerous warty creases, tapering to a point and covered with long, soft straight hairs.

Taxonomy and naming

''Podolobium alpestre'' was first formally described 1855 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia ...

and the description was published in ''Definitions of rare or hitherto undescribed Australian Plants, chiefly collected within the boundaries of the colony of Victoria''. Mueller gave it the name ''Oxylobium alpestre''. The species was transferred to the genus ''

Podolobium ''Podolobium'', commonly known as shaggy peas, is a genus of six species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae that are Endemism, endemic to eastern Australia. The genus was formally described by botanist Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773), ...

'' in 1995.

Distribution and habitat

Alpine shaggy-pea occurs in alpine heaths and high-altitude woodland in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

References

External links

Herbarium specimen at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7207034 Fabales of Australia Flora of the Australian Capital Territory Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state)

alpestre Alpestre () is the northernmost municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The city lies near the Uruguay River, at its northernmost point. A landmark called Ponto Extremo Norte (''Extreme North Point'') marks the northernmost point ...

Plants described in 1855 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller