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Kennedia microphylla

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Kennedia microphylla
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Kennedia
Species:
K. microphylla
Binomial name
Kennedia microphylla
Synonyms[1]

Caulinia microphylla (Meisn.) F.Muell.

Kennedia microphylla is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a prostrate, mat-forming creeper with relatively small, trifoliate leaves and red flowers.

Description

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Kennedia microphylla is a prostrate, mat-forming creeper that typically grows to 5–30 cm (2.0–11.8 in) wide and 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) wide. The leaves are trifoliate, 13–20 mm (0.51–0.79 in) long with stipules 5.5 mm (0.22 in) long at the base, the leaflets flat. The flowers are uniformly red and borne on hairy pedicels about 3.5 mm (0.14 in) long. The five sepals are hairy and 4.0–4.5 mm (0.16–0.18 in) long. The standard petal is 9.5–10 mm (0.37–0.39 in) long, the wings 7.0–8.5 mm (0.28–0.33 in) long and the keel 7.5–8.0 mm (0.30–0.31 in) long. Flowering occurs from August to December and the fruit is a hairy, flattened pod 21–25 mm (0.83–0.98 in) long.[2]

Taxonomy

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Kennedia microphylla was first formally described in 1844 by Carl Meissner in Lehmann's Plantae Preissianae.[3][4] The specific epithet (microphylla) means "small-leaved".[5]

Distribution and habitat

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This kennedia grows in sandy soil in swampy places and in coastal areas in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographic regions in south-western Western Australia.[2]

Conservation status

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Kennedia microphylla is listed as "not threatened" under the Western Australian Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Kennedia microphylla". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Kennedia microphylla". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. ^ "Kennedia microphylla". APNI. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  4. ^ Meissner, Carl; Lehmann, Johann G.C. (1844). Plantae Preissianae. Vol. 1. Hamburg. p. 91. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  5. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 252. ISBN 9780958034180.