Sturt's desert pea
Encyclopedia
Swainsona formosa, Sturt's Desert Pea, is an Australia
n plant in the genus Swainsona
, named after English botanist Isaac Swainson
, famous for its distinctive blood-red leaf-like flowers, each with a bulbous black centre, or "boss". It is one of Australia's best known wildflowers. It is native to the arid
regions of central and north-western Australia, and its range extends into all mainland Australian states with the exception of Victoria
.
who recorded his first sighting on 22 August 1699. These specimens are today in the Fielding-Druce Herbarium
at Oxford University in England .
The taxonomy
of Sturt's Desert Pea has been changed on a number of occasions. It was initially treated in the 18th century in the genus Clianthus as Clianthus dampieri, and later became more widely known as Clianthus formosus (formosus is Latin for "beautiful"). However it was later reclassified under the genus Swainsona as Swainsona formosa, the name by which it is officially known today.
A further reclassification to Willdampia formosa was proposed in the publication Western Australian Naturalist in 1999; however this proposal was rejected by the scientific community in 2000.
The common name honours Charles Sturt
, who recorded seeing large quantities of the flowers while exploring central Australia in 1844; the second version of the scientific name honours the naturalist Isaac Swainson
, and the third (rejected) version of the scientific name was intended to honour the explorer William Dampier
.
Sturt's Desert Pea is a member of Fabaceae
, subfamily Faboideae
. It has pinnate, grey-green leaves which are arranged spirally on the main axis of the plant, and in two opposite rows (distichous) on lateral stems. Its flowers are so different from its relatives that it is almost unrecognisable as a member of the pea family. The flowers are about 9 centimetres in length and grow in clusters of around half a dozen on thick vertical stalks (peduncle
s), which spring up every 10-15 centimetres along the prostrate stems, which may be up to 2 metres in length. The sexual organs, enclosed by the keel, comprise 10 stamens, of which 9 are joined and 1 is free, and an ovary
topped by a style
upon which is located the stigma which receives pollen during fertilisation.
The plant flowers from spring to summer, particularly after rain. There is a natural pure white form, as well as hybridised varieties which can have flowers ranging from blood scarlet, to pink and even pale cream, with variously coloured central bosses. Several tricolour variants have been recorded, including the cultivars marginata (white keel with red margin, red flag and purple-black boss), tricolour (white keel, red flag, pink boss), and elegans (white flag and keel, both with red margins). Flowers are bird-pollinated in the wild.
The fruit is a legume, about 5 centimetres long, and each yields 50 or more flat, kidney-shaped seeds at maturity
Most forms of the plant are low-growing or prostrate, however in the Pilbara region of north-western Australia varieties growing as tall as 2 metres have been observed.
Showy Donia (G. Don, 1832)
Beautiful Donia (G. Don, 1832)
Dampier’s clianth (Veitch, 1850)
Dampier’s Clianthus (Hooker, 1858)
Sturt’s pea (Adelaide Advertiser, 1858)
Sturt pea (de Mole, 1861)
Captain Sturt’s desert pea (Aspinall, 1862)
Desert pea (Anon., 1864)
Sturt’s desert pea (Tenison-Woods, 1865)
Glory flower (Bailey, 1883)
Glory pea (Bailey, 1883)
Sturt’s glory pea (Anon., 1886)
Lobster claws (The Garden, 1890)
Blood flower (Parker, 1898)
Dampier’s glory pea (Guilfoyle, 1911)
Australian glory pea (Guilfoyle, 1911)
Dampier pea (Harris, 1980)
, it has been known to persist as a perennial
if conditions are favourable. If the roots are left undisturbed, flowering may resume in the next season.
It is well adapted to life as a desert plant. The small seeds have a long viability, and can germinate after many years. Seeds have a hard seed coat, which protects them from harsh arid environments until the next rainfall, but inhibits germination in normal domestic environments. Growers can overcome this dormancy either by nicking the seed coat away from the 'eye' of the seed, by rubbing the seed gently between pieces of sandpaper, or by placing the seed in hot (just off-boiling) water and leaving it to soak overnight.
Once germinated, seedlings quickly establish a deep taproot
, vital for desert survival. This means that if domestically grown, they should either be planted in their intended final location, transplanted as soon as possible after germination, or grafted as a seedling on to a different root such as the bladder senna, Colutea arborescens. They do not tolerate disturbance of their roots but, once established in well-drained soil, require little and infrequent watering, and can withstand extreme heat and sunshine, as well as light frosts.
Sturt's Desert Pea is not endangered, but it is illegal to collect specimens of the plant from Crown land
without a permit. The plants must not be collected from private land without the written consent of the land owner.
on 23 November 1961. The iconic status of Sturt's Desert Pea in Australia, and particularly in South Australia, has ensured its use as a popular subject in artwork and photography, as well as a decorative motif, and in a range of commercial uses. Sturt's Desert Pea has also made many appearances in prose and verse, as well as featuring in some aboriginal legends (see Symon & Jusaitis (2007) for further details).
Sturt's Desert Pea has appeared in several releases of Australian postage stamps depicting Australian floral emblems (issued in 1968, 1971 and 2005).
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n plant in the genus Swainsona
Swainsona
Swainsona is a large genus of flowering plants native to Australasia. There are 85 species, all but one of which is endemic to Australia; the exception, S...
, named after English botanist Isaac Swainson
Isaac Swainson
Isaac Swainson was the son of John Swainson , yeoman, of High House, Hawkshead, Lancashire. He was famous for his botanical garden, which was largely funded from the profits of a herbal remedy for venereal disease, and a plant genus is named after him. For his commercial activities in the latter...
, famous for its distinctive blood-red leaf-like flowers, each with a bulbous black centre, or "boss". It is one of Australia's best known wildflowers. It is native to the arid
Arid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
regions of central and north-western Australia, and its range extends into all mainland Australian states with the exception of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
.
History
Specimens of Sturt's Desert Pea were first collected by William DampierWilliam Dampier
William Dampier was an English buccaneer, sea captain, author and scientific observer...
who recorded his first sighting on 22 August 1699. These specimens are today in the Fielding-Druce Herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
at Oxford University in England .
The taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
of Sturt's Desert Pea has been changed on a number of occasions. It was initially treated in the 18th century in the genus Clianthus as Clianthus dampieri, and later became more widely known as Clianthus formosus (formosus is Latin for "beautiful"). However it was later reclassified under the genus Swainsona as Swainsona formosa, the name by which it is officially known today.
A further reclassification to Willdampia formosa was proposed in the publication Western Australian Naturalist in 1999; however this proposal was rejected by the scientific community in 2000.
The common name honours Charles Sturt
Charles Sturt
Captain Charles Napier Sturt was an English explorer of Australia, and part of the European Exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the continent, starting from both Sydney and later from Adelaide. His expeditions traced several of the westward-flowing rivers,...
, who recorded seeing large quantities of the flowers while exploring central Australia in 1844; the second version of the scientific name honours the naturalist Isaac Swainson
Isaac Swainson
Isaac Swainson was the son of John Swainson , yeoman, of High House, Hawkshead, Lancashire. He was famous for his botanical garden, which was largely funded from the profits of a herbal remedy for venereal disease, and a plant genus is named after him. For his commercial activities in the latter...
, and the third (rejected) version of the scientific name was intended to honour the explorer William Dampier
William Dampier
William Dampier was an English buccaneer, sea captain, author and scientific observer...
.
Description
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
, subfamily Faboideae
Faboideae
Faboideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. One acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae....
. It has pinnate, grey-green leaves which are arranged spirally on the main axis of the plant, and in two opposite rows (distichous) on lateral stems. Its flowers are so different from its relatives that it is almost unrecognisable as a member of the pea family. The flowers are about 9 centimetres in length and grow in clusters of around half a dozen on thick vertical stalks (peduncle
Peduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...
s), which spring up every 10-15 centimetres along the prostrate stems, which may be up to 2 metres in length. The sexual organs, enclosed by the keel, comprise 10 stamens, of which 9 are joined and 1 is free, and an ovary
Ovary
The ovary is an ovum-producing reproductive organ, often found in pairs as part of the vertebrate female reproductive system. Ovaries in anatomically female individuals are analogous to testes in anatomically male individuals, in that they are both gonads and endocrine glands.-Human anatomy:Ovaries...
topped by a style
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
upon which is located the stigma which receives pollen during fertilisation.
The plant flowers from spring to summer, particularly after rain. There is a natural pure white form, as well as hybridised varieties which can have flowers ranging from blood scarlet, to pink and even pale cream, with variously coloured central bosses. Several tricolour variants have been recorded, including the cultivars marginata (white keel with red margin, red flag and purple-black boss), tricolour (white keel, red flag, pink boss), and elegans (white flag and keel, both with red margins). Flowers are bird-pollinated in the wild.
The fruit is a legume, about 5 centimetres long, and each yields 50 or more flat, kidney-shaped seeds at maturity
Most forms of the plant are low-growing or prostrate, however in the Pilbara region of north-western Australia varieties growing as tall as 2 metres have been observed.
Common names
The first recorded uses of common names for Swainsona formosa (Author/publication and year of first use).:Showy Donia (G. Don, 1832)
Beautiful Donia (G. Don, 1832)
Dampier’s clianth (Veitch, 1850)
Dampier’s Clianthus (Hooker, 1858)
Sturt’s pea (Adelaide Advertiser, 1858)
Sturt pea (de Mole, 1861)
Captain Sturt’s desert pea (Aspinall, 1862)
Desert pea (Anon., 1864)
Sturt’s desert pea (Tenison-Woods, 1865)
Glory flower (Bailey, 1883)
Glory pea (Bailey, 1883)
Sturt’s glory pea (Anon., 1886)
Lobster claws (The Garden, 1890)
Blood flower (Parker, 1898)
Dampier’s glory pea (Guilfoyle, 1911)
Australian glory pea (Guilfoyle, 1911)
Dampier pea (Harris, 1980)
Life cycle
Generally considered to be a short-lived annualAnnual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
, it has been known to persist as a perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
if conditions are favourable. If the roots are left undisturbed, flowering may resume in the next season.
It is well adapted to life as a desert plant. The small seeds have a long viability, and can germinate after many years. Seeds have a hard seed coat, which protects them from harsh arid environments until the next rainfall, but inhibits germination in normal domestic environments. Growers can overcome this dormancy either by nicking the seed coat away from the 'eye' of the seed, by rubbing the seed gently between pieces of sandpaper, or by placing the seed in hot (just off-boiling) water and leaving it to soak overnight.
Once germinated, seedlings quickly establish a deep taproot
Taproot
A taproot is an enlarged, somewhat straight to tapering plant root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally.Plants with taproots are difficult to transplant...
, vital for desert survival. This means that if domestically grown, they should either be planted in their intended final location, transplanted as soon as possible after germination, or grafted as a seedling on to a different root such as the bladder senna, Colutea arborescens. They do not tolerate disturbance of their roots but, once established in well-drained soil, require little and infrequent watering, and can withstand extreme heat and sunshine, as well as light frosts.
Sturt's Desert Pea is not endangered, but it is illegal to collect specimens of the plant from Crown land
Crown land
In Commonwealth realms, Crown land is an area belonging to the monarch , the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it....
without a permit. The plants must not be collected from private land without the written consent of the land owner.
Use as emblem and icon
Sturt's Desert Pea (described as Clianthus formosus) was adopted as the floral emblem of the state of South AustraliaSouth Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
on 23 November 1961. The iconic status of Sturt's Desert Pea in Australia, and particularly in South Australia, has ensured its use as a popular subject in artwork and photography, as well as a decorative motif, and in a range of commercial uses. Sturt's Desert Pea has also made many appearances in prose and verse, as well as featuring in some aboriginal legends (see Symon & Jusaitis (2007) for further details).
Sturt's Desert Pea has appeared in several releases of Australian postage stamps depicting Australian floral emblems (issued in 1968, 1971 and 2005).
External links
- South Australian Government Floral Emblem (official website)
- Australian emblems - South Australia (Australian National Botanic Gardens website)
- Aboriginal myth about the Sturt's Desert Pea
- Info Page from the Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants (hosted by Charles Sturt UniversityCharles Sturt UniversityCharles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus university located in New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. It has campuses at Bathurst, Canberra, Albury-Wodonga, Dubbo, Goulburn, Orange, Wagga Wagga and Burlington, Ontario...
, New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. - Large image of Sturt's Desert Pea
- Sturt's Desert Pea Fact-sheet from Gardening Australia, a TV programme of the Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
. - Oxford University Herbaria
- Sturt's Desert Pea costume (designed for the South Australian Centenary in 1936 by Thelma Thomas Afford, of AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
).