Swainsona plagiotropis
F.Muell. Red Swainson-peaProstrate or ascending perennial herb, to 15 cm tall; stems glabrous or sparsely covered with appressed or loosely antrorse, basifixed or subbasifixed hairs. Leaves mostly 5–12 cm long; leaflets 13–25, narrow-obovate to narrow-lanceolate, leaflets 10–17 mm long, 1–4 mm wide, apices acute to obtuse, upper surface glabrous, lower surface with scattered hairs; stipules broad-ovate, 5–9 mm long, oblique, margins erose or sometimes minutely toothed. Racemes 2–5-flowered; flowers mostly 10–15 mm long; calyx more or less glabrous, teeth longer than tube; petals reddish-purple; standard 12–15 mm long, 10–20 mm wide, broad-ovate, almost truncate, shortly clawed; keel 9–10 mm long, strongly twisted near centre, apex projecting upward, acute; style tip straight, with a ridge of hairs below. Pod ovoid to obloid, 15–25 mm long, 8–10 mm wide, inflated, curved, pubescent, stipe to c. 0.5 mm long; seeds to c. 20, reniform, to c. 3.5 mm long, brown. Flowers Aug.–Nov.
MuM, Wim, VRiv, NIS. Also NSW. Rare species, apparently restricted to a few sites in north-central Victoria (mostly between Bendigo and the Murray River) where it grows in grassland on heavy red soils and is now almost confined to roadside remnants.
Jeanes, J.A. (1996). Fabaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 3, Dicotyledons Winteraceae to Myrtaceae, pp. 663–829. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Spinning