Phil Bendle Collection:Psoralea pinnata (Dally Pine)

Kingdom: Plantae
(Unranked): Angiosperms
(Unranked): Eudicots
(Unranked): Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Psoralea
Species: P. pinnata
Binomial name : Psoralea pinnata
Common names: Dally Pine, African scurf pea, Blue pea, Kool-Aid Bush, Fountain Bush, Taylorina, Blue Psoralea,

Psoralea pinnata is a native of South Africa but is now an established alien species in other countries particularly Southern Australia and New Zealand. It is found only in the North Island of New Zealand in North Auckland, Coromandel region, Raglan, Wanganui ant at Oakura beach in Taranaki. In New Zealand P. pinnata is found on dry slow growing shrublands, coastal areas, track sides, road verges, dry gullies, and forest margins. Psoralea pinnata is a nitrogen fixer and can alter soil nutrient status and affect indigenous species persistence. Any disturbance for e.g. a fire incident can trigger a mass germination of soil-stored seed.
It is an erect, evergreen, fast-growing, medium-sized shrub (height 1.5 to 4m) that forms dense thickets that can shade out and impede the growth of lower stratal species.
During November, December and January this plant has white, lilac or blue pea shaped sweet-smelling flowers in large clusters toward the end of the branches. These flowers are extremely attractive to bees. Flowering is followed by the production of small pods, each of these contains a single dark brown seed.

For more information, visit:     http://nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.asp?ID=2863

 

 

Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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