Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Platylobium montanum subsp. montanum
Common name
A Flat Pea
Family
Fabaceae
Where found
Forest, woodland, and grassy areas. Tablelands, ACT, Western Slopes, and Kosciuszko National Park
Notes
Weakly erect or sprawling shrub to 2 m tall (rarely more than 0.5 m tall in the ACT). Stems hairless or hairy with minute hairs. Leaves mostly opposite each other, occasionally a few alternating up the stems, 2.2-5 cm long, 10-40 mm wide, bases usually cordate, occasionally squared off or broadly rounded; margins nearly flat to slightly rolled down; tips almost pointed to narrowly pointed, with an abrupt point to about 2 mm long, often spine-like, not sharp; upper surface commonly moderately warty, lower surface becoming hairless, leaf stalks 2-8 mm long. An obvious junction between the leaf stalk and the leaf. Calyx 5-10 mm long. Standard petal 10-15 mm long. Flowers pea shaped, with 5 petals, 2 joined together to form the keel, yellow with red markings, the back of the standard petal purple-brown throughout or with narrow yellow bands at the sides.The brown to red-brown bracteoles (4-10 mm long) are inserted 0.5-2 mm below the flower, and are hairless, with hairs only along the midline, or rarely hairy all over. The bracts are 3-6 mm long, and hairless except for the margins. Flowers in clusters of 1-4. Flowers Spring-Summer.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
VICFLORA description: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/bfabfe9f-0fab-482c-9294-920b5f7f24c0 (accessed 2 May 2021)
Description partly based on Thompson, I.R., (2011) A revision of Platylobium (Fabaceae: Bossiaeeae). Muelleria 29(2): 164-166, Figs 3, 4
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