Family | Fabaceae |
Description | The species is very variable in morphology, from wiry scrambling climber to upright and shrubby. This form supplied by Diversity Native Seeds is typical of the more upright or shrubby forms that tend to be found in grassy woodland habitats such as white box grassy woodland. It is not as shrubby as some forms and will still scramble up througfh shrubs it comes into contact with. However young plants are very upright in form with almost vertical stems. This appears to be an adaptation allowing the plant to compete with grasses. As the plant gets larger the stems tend to lean over and fan out from the base, forming a loose mounded shrub consisting of many long stems. |
Flowering time | Late winter-early spring |
Distribution & botanical details | click here for overall species information. These grassy woodland forms are widely distributed across the species range. |
Vegetation communities | Nvarious grassy woodland habitats. |
Soil types | Generally on higher nutrient, finer-textured soils than the climbing forms. Common on basalt in white box grassy woodland. Thrives on skeletal substrates derived from these soil types. |
Values/uses | |
-habitat values | Probably an important refuge for ground dwelling birds, mammals and repltiles. Heavily grazed by macropods, often grazed out when kangaroo numbers are high. |
-amenity/ornamental values | Very attractive in flower. popular and widely grown. A better groundcover plant than the climbing forms. Recovers well from severe pruning. Longer lived than the climbing forms. |
-economic/functional values | Extremely useful for revegetation of eroded sites, quarries and mines with rocky, skeletal substrates without topsoil. Widely used for roadside revegetation. Potential use as a fodder plant in mixed grazing systems. |
Tolerances | |
-water deficit | high |
-compaction | average |
-waterlogging | average |
-shade | average |
-soil salinity | not known |
-salt spray | average |
-pH | 5-7 |
-minimum temperature | -5 degrees |
Seed and germination details | |
-avge no. seeds per gram | 26 |
-viability period | long |
-dormancy | physical- hard seed coat |
-treatment | scarification or boiling water |
-days from first to last germination at 25 degrees | 3-20 |
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