Chorizema varium, commonly known as bush flame pea,[2][3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub with prickly, heart-shaped leaves and orange, yellow and pinkish-red flowers.
Description
Chorizema varium is a prostrate, spreading or scrambling shrub that typically grows to a height of about 30 cm (12 in) and has softly-hairy branches. Its leaves are heart-shaped, 15–45 mm (0.59–1.77 in) long, 8–27 mm (0.31–1.06 in) wide and wavy with more or less prickly teeth on the edges. The flowers are arranged in racemes, each flower on a pedicel 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long. The sepals are hairy and 6.0–7.5 mm (0.24–0.30 in) long. The flowers are orange, yellow and pinkish-red, the standard petal 9–14 mm (0.35–0.55 in) long, the wings 9.0–10.5 mm (0.35–0.41 in) long, and the keel 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long. Flowering mainly occurs from September to October and the fruit is a pod 13–17 mm (0.51–0.67 in) long.[2][4]
Taxonomy
Chorizema varium was first formally described in 1839 by Joseph Paxton in his "Magazine of Botany".[5][6] The specific epithet (varium) means "variable", referring to the leaves.[7]
Distribution and habitat
This species of pea grows on coastal limestone hills and outcrops in the Swan Coastal Plain bioregion of south-western Western Australia.[2]
^Merritt, David; Sweedman, Luke (2006). Australian Seeds A Guide to Their Collection, Identification and Biology. CSIRO Publishing. p. 243. ISBN9780643098602.
^Bentham, George (1864). Flora Australiensis. Vol. 2. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. p. 28. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
^Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 333. ISBN9780958034180.
