Goodia medicaginea
F.Muell. Western Golden-tipShrub to 1.5 m high, young branchlets glabrous to densely clothed with appressed hairs. Leaflets obovate to obovate-cuneate or elliptic, 4–32 mm long, 2–20 mm wide, glabrous or sparingly pubescent, dull blue-green when mature; petiole 5–25 mm long. Racemes usually 1–4 cm long; flowers 6–10.5 mm long, on pedicels to 5 mm long; calyx 3–5.3 mm long, sparingly appressed-pubescent, the 3 lower teeth always shorter than tube in mature flowers; petals dull yellow or orange-yellow with some green, red, purple or brown markings. Pods obliquely ovate to oblong, 1.2–2.3 cm long, narrowed basally into a slender stipe; foot of aril to 1 mm long. Flowers Aug.–Sep.
Wim, GleP, VVP, VRiv, GipP, Gold, CVU, GGr, DunT, NIS, EGU, HSF. Also WA, SA, NSW. In Victoria occurs sporadically in the south-west (e.g. north of Portland, Mt Arapiles), at Long Forest west of Melbourne, in central Victoria near Eaglehawk and at Killawarra Forest, and near Suggan Buggan in the east. Favours drier sites than Goodia lotifolia.
As discussed by Lee (1984), the status of taxa in Goodia has long been in question and opinion has been divided over whether 1, 2 or 3 species exist. Goodia medicaginea has been synonymized under G. lotifolia by a number of workers, but Willis (1973), Lee (1984) and James (1991) maintained it as a distinct species. Thompson (2011) recognises 6 species, with G. pubescens also distinguished as a distinct species.
In Victoria, Goodia medicaginea can be distinguished relatively easily but when material from throughout the ranges of these 3 species is examined the distinction between them is less clear. This is partly because the diagnostic characters traditionally used to differentiate the species are not entirely reliable, and partly because the flowers and mature pods containing seeds are almost never found simultaneously.
Ross, J.H. (1996). Goodia. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 3, Dicotyledons Winteraceae to Myrtaceae, pp. 820–821. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
SpinningThompson, I.R. (2011). A revision of Goodia (Fabaceae): Bossiaeeae). Muelleria 29: 141–153.
Willis, J.H. (1973). A handbook to plants in Victoria. Melbourne University Press, Carlton.
