Pultenaea blakelyi

A shrub to 4 metres tall, by about 1 to 2 metres wide, with stems sparsely to moderately hairy.

It has a mostly coastal distribution in NSW, growing as far south as Merimbula on the South Coast but also found inland in Kosciuszko NP and nearby; extending north up the coast to mainly Myall Lakes; (however, there are records west of Coffs Harbour and Lismore). It extends into the north-eastern parts of Victoria, with a few records spread over much of southern Victoria.

It grows mainly in dry to wet sclerophyll forest, usually on sandy soils.

Pultenaea is a member of the “pea” family. This generally means that leaves are alternate with stipules (leaf-like appendages) at the base of the petioles. Pultenaea spp. however, can sometimes have opposite leaves or leaves in whorls of 3. One of the key features of Pultenaea is that the stipules are fused behind the axillary bud.

In this species, the leaves are mostly opposite, narrow-elliptic to obovate, flat to concave, to 20 mm long and to 2.5 mm wide, tapering to a blunt point and paler on the underside; pale green to blue-green in colour.

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). Pultenaea spp. sometimes have bracts surrounding the inflorescences, and bracteoles attached to the calyx tube or just below on the pedicels (at different locations in different species). These bracteoles can also have accompanying stipules.

In this species, flowers are yellow, up to 1 cm long and produced in the leaf axils at the ends of the branches, with the standard about 1 cm across, bearing red markings; appearing in Winter to Summer.

The fruit of all peas is a pod. In this species, they are ovate, sparsely hairy, smooth, to 10 mm long.