Dillwynia juniperina

An erect, spreading, prickly shrub to a height of 2 metres, with hairy stems (short and tight hairs).

It has a scattered distribution, mainly on the tablelands areas of NSW with some disjunctions; from Armidale north to the Queensland border with some records in southern-inland Queensland; the occurring from Dubbo and Orange, through to north-west Sydney in small disjunct patches. It is common in the Trunkey area south of Bathurst, then with records in the Southern Highlands, through to Nowra, as well as the ACT. Another disjunct patch is between Wagga Wagga and Albury. It also grows in north-central and eastern Victoria.

Usually found in dry sclerophyll woodlands, usually on skeletal sandy to deeper soils.

Dillwynia is a member of the “pea” family. This generally means that leaves are alternate with stipules at the base of the petioles. Dillwynia have simple and alternate leaves, with stipules present and minute, or absent. Leaves can be flat, terete or triangular in cross-section and often twisted.

In this species, leaves are crowded on stems, rigid, linear, triangular in cross-section, to about 20 mm long and only 1 mm wide, sessile with a sharply-pointed tip, prickly overall. Leaves can also point downwards on some branches.

Flowers are, of course, pea-shaped (a term sometimes used is papilionate), with 5 petals in a fixed arrangement; the main back petal is called the “standard”, two lateral petals called “wings” and two fused petals at the bottom called the “keel” (in which the anthers and one carpel tend to be hidden).

In Dillwynia, flowers are yellow, or red and yellow (or orange/yellow) and are usually arranged singly or in small groups in leaf axils or on the ends of branchlets. The upper two of five sepal lobes are joined in a single “lip”. The standard petal is typically wider than high (a useful identification feature), and the keel is the same length as the wings. There are very small leafy bracts present on the common peduncle (which can fall early or be persistent) and bracteoles on flower pedicels (below the calyx).

In this species, flowers are arranged in terminal racemes up to 50 mm long, of up to 20 flowers, yellow in colour with the standard to 9 mm long, with red markings on both the standard and keel. Flowering occurs from August to November.

The fruit of all peas is a pod. In this species, they are approximately 5 mm long.