''Swainsona minutiflora'' is a species of 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 Australia. It is a prostrate,

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

with

imparipinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

leaves with 5 to 9 oblong or narrowly oblong leaflets with the narrower end towards the base, and

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 of 3 to 7 yellow or pinkish flowers.

Description

''Swainsona minutiflora'' is a prostrate herb with several stems mostly up to radiating from a tap root. Its leaves are imparipinnate, long with 5 to 9 oblong or narrowly oblong leaflets long and wide on a hairy

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

. There is a tapering linear to narrowly triangular

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole (botany), petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part ...

long at the base of the petiole. The flowers are arranged in racemes with 3 to 7 flowers on a peduncle mostly long, each flower long on a

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

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'' ...

s are long, the sepal lobes shorter than the tube. The petals are yellow, or pinkish, the

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

petal about long and wide, 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 ...

long, and 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 ...

long and long and deep. Flowering has been observed in August and October and the fruit is long and wide containing about 8 more or less square seeds about long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Swainsona minutiflora'' was first formally described in 1948 by

Alma Theodora Lee Alma Theodora Lee (née Melvaine; 12 April 1912 — 20 October 1990) was an Australian botanist and plant taxonomist who worked at the National Herbarium of New South Wales, University of Sydney, and CSIRO. She is notable for raising the standar ...

in ''

Contributions from the New South Wales National Herbarium ''Telopea'' is a fully open-access, online, peer-reviewed scientific journal that rapidly publishes original research on plant systematics, with broad content that covers Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The journal was established in 1975 a ...

'', from specimens collected by Max Koch in Mount Lyndhurst in 1899. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''minutiflora'') means "very small flowers".

Distribution

This species of pea grows in the

North-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 ...

Lake Eyre Lake Eyre ( ), officially known as Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre, is an endorheic lake in the east-central part of the Far North (South Australia), Far North region of South Australia, some 700 km (435 mi) north of Adelaide. It is the larg ...

and

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain ranges in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhab ...

bioregions of South Australia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15482862 laciniata Fabales of Australia Flora of South Australia Plants described in 1948 Taxa named by Alma Theodora Lee