Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Kennedia rubicunda

Flower, buds, and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, ACT

Flowering stem. Photographer Don Wood, north of Milton

Pods and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer D Greig, Bankstown Native Garden, Bankstown

Common name

Red Kennedy pea, Dusky coral pea

Family

Fabaceae

Where found

Variety of habitats. Coast, ranges, and the eastern edge of the tablelands. Doutfully naturlised in the ACT.

Notes

Prostrate or twining perennial herb, stems to 6 m long. Stems rusty hairy, older stems more sparsely hairy. Leaves alternating along the stems, compound, with 3 leaflets each mostly 2-12 cm long, 20-80 mm wide, more or less hairless to rusty-hairy on both surfaces, tips blunt to notched, sometimes mucronate. Flowers red to purple, 30-40 mm long, pea shaped, with 5 petals, 2 joined together to form the keel, in mostly 2–12-flowered elongated clusters. Flowers Winter to Summer. Particularly abundant following fires.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Kennedia~rubicunda (accessed 19 January, 2021)