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Pultenaea juniperina
Pultenaea juniperina, commonly known as prickly bush-pea or prickly beauty is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is an erect, spiky shrub with hairy stems, linear to narrow elliptic leaves with stipules at the base, and yellow-orange and red flowers.   DescriptionPultenaea juniperina is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of 1.2–3 m (3 ft 11 in – 9 ft 10 in) and has its young stems covered with curled hairs. The leaves are arranged alternately, varying in shape from linear to narrow elliptic, narrow egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, or lance shaped, often concave, often heart-shaped at the base and taper to a sharp point on the tip. They are mostly 5–30 mm (0.20–1.18 in) long and 1.5–2.5 mm (0.059–0.098 in) wide with a lance-shaped stipule 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long at the base. The lower surface of the leaves is darker than the upper surface and the edges are sometimes curved downwards.[2][3][4][5] The flowers are 7–13 mm (0.28–0.51 in) long, arranged singly or in clusters, in leaf axils near the ends of short side-shoots with egg-shaped, tapering bracts 2 mm (0.079 in) long, each flower on a pedicel 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long. The sepals are 4–7 mm (0.16–0.28 in) long with lance-shaped bracteoles 1.5–3 mm (0.059–0.118 in) long at the base. The standard petal is yellow to orange with red striations, the wings yellow to orange and the keel yellow with a red tip or all red. Flowering occurs from October to November and the fruit is a hairy pod, the lower half enclosed with the remains of the sepals.[2][3][5] Taxonomy and namingPultenaea juniperina was first formally described in 1805 by Jacques Labillardière in his book Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen.[6][7] The specific epithet (juniperina) means "juniper-like".[8] The common name "prickly bush-pea" is used on the mainland for this species and for the rare Pultenaea aristata.[2][3][9] "Prickly beauty" is given as the common name in Tasmania,[4] Varieties of P. juniperina have been described, but the names are not accepted by the Australian Plant Census:[1]
Pultenaea forsythiana Blakely is also regarded as a synonym of P. juniperina, but is an accepted species in Victoria.[19] Distribution and habitatPrickly bush-pea is endemic to south-eastern Australia where it grows in forest, woodland and heath. In New South Wales it occurs in the Armidale area and on the coast and tablelands south from the Brindabella Range, including in the Australian Capital Territory and Kosciuszko National Park.[2][5] In Victoria it is treated as distinct from Pultenaea forsythiana. If records of that species are included, P. juniperina is widespread in the southern half of Victoria.[3][19] The species is widespread in Tasmania.[4] References
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