Plants of
South Australia
Pultenaea graveolens
Fabaceae
Scented Bush-pea
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Vulnerable
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Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
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Oodnadatta
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Keith
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock painting: 1

Prior names

Pultenaea graveolens var. glabrescens

Etymology

Pultenaea named after Richard Pulteney (1730 � 1801), an English physician, botanist and biographer of Carl Linnaeus. Graveolens from the Latin 'gravis' meaning heavy and 'oleo' meaning smell; alluding to the plants having strong perfume.

Distribution and status

Found in the southern Flinders Range and the southern Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia, with a single record from Kangaroo Island, growing in dry sclerophyll woodland. Also found in Victoria. Native. Rare in South Australia. Rare in Victoria.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Kangaroo Island, South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Resinous, strongly perfumed shrub to 1.5 m high with pendulous branches and terete stems covered with short, spreading hairs. Leaves alternate, ovate, to 25 mm long and 3 mm wide, apex acute, not pungent, upper surface with pale hairs, lower surface scabrous with tubercle-based hairs, darker than upper surface. Inflorenscences axillary toward tips of short, lateral branches with yellow pea-flowers. Flowering in October. Fruits are hairy brown ovoid pod. Seeds are shiny black reniform seed to 4 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, with a cream aril. Seed embryo type is bent.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds during December. Collect maturing pods, those that are brown or turning brown and contain hard black seeds inside. Place the pods in a paper bag and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the pods with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From three collections, the seed viability were average to high, ranging from 60% to 100%. Place the pods in a paper bag and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the pods with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA680 (2.35 g)20+10-Dec-2007PJA162
Southern Lofty
19-Sep-2008100%-18°C
BGA18,000 (31.43 g)50+14-Dec-2007KHB117
Southern Lofty
19-Sep-200860%-18°C
BGA 
MSB
3,200 (12.6 g)
3,200 (12.6 g)
250+16-Dec-2007KHB97B
Flinders Ranges
19-Sep-200885%-18°C
BGA14,600 (44.71 g)30+7-Jan-2008TST677
Southern Lofty
1-Jan-2012 -18°C
BGA4,920 (12.23 g)24-Dec-2014Phil Collins
Southern Lofty
1-Jan-201670%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.