''Swainsona tephrotricha'' 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 eastern South Australia. It is an erect or ascending

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

plant, 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 7 to 19 broadly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic leaflets, 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 30 or more pink or pinkish-purple flowers.

Description

''Swainsona tephrotricha'' is an erect or ascending subshrubby perennial, with imparipinnate leaves long, with 7 to 19 broadly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic leaflets, long, the side leaflets long and wide. There is a

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 up to 30 or more flowers on a peduncle wide, each flower long on a dark, hairy

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 joined at the base, forming a tube long, the sepal lobes usually much shorter than the tube. The petals are pink or pinkish-purple, rarely white, 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 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 ...

about 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 ...

about long and deep. Flowering mainly occurs from July to October and the fruit is more or less spherical, long and wide, with the remains of the

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

about long.

Taxonomy

''Swainsona tephrotricha'' was first formally described in 1853 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 ...

in the journal ''

Linnaea ''Linnaea borealis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae (the honeysuckle family). It is the only species in the genus ''Linnaea''. It is a boreal to subarctic woodland subshrub, commonly known as twinflower (sometimes ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

This species of pea grows on arid hillsides, often on roadsides, in and around the

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 ...

in the east of South Australia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15481784 Flora of South Australia tephrotricha Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Plants described in 1853 Endemic flora of Australia