Pultenaea mollis

An erect or spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 3 metres, with stems covered hairs that are often curled or twisted.

It occurs in NSW, south from around Gosford, through the Sydney area, extending to Katoomba, then occurring in disjunct patches through the southern highlands and Nowra-area, to west of Milton and Nelligen in Morton National Park; then with a large disjunction to Eden and to the west and south thereof.

It grows across most of the south and east of Victoria, as well as northern Tasmania.

It is often found growing in dry sclerophyll woodlands and forests on sandy soil.

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 alternate and crowded along stems; narrow linear to elliptic or needle-shaped, to 20 mm long and to about 1.5 mm wide; mid to light green in colour, with the edges rolled inwards and the lower surface hairy; stipules to 4 mm long.

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, the flowers are to about 10 mm long, arranged in dense heads or up to 10 flowers, at the terminals or sub-terminal; yellow in colour. The standard petal is yellow with red markings; the wings are yellow; and the keel is red; occurring from spring to summer.

The fruit of all peas is a pod. In this species, the pod is swollen, to 6 mm long.