Crotalaria cunninghamii
Common name: Green Birdflower
Family: FABACEAE (730 Genera)
Origin of Scientific Name
cunninghamii – after Allan Cunningham (1791 - 1839), botanical collector in Australia between 1816 and 1839.
Description
Erect shrub 0.6 to 4 m high with large, green/yellow pea flowers, finely striped with purplish-brown 'veins'. Each of the flowers held in terminal clusters, resembles a bird that is attached by the beak (the calyx) to the stem. It has velvety, grey-green oval leaves and branches. Fruit is a velvety, club-shaped, inflated pod 4 to 5 cm long.
Distribution
Widely distributed in northern and central Australia, often on sand dunes.
Flowering Season
January to December, but most probably linked to rainfall.Cultivation/Propagation
Easily propagated from seed, pre-treated in boiling water, or from cuttings.
View This Plant in Kings Park
In the Kimberley garden beds near the Two Rivers lookout and Boab trees (close to the entry to the Western Australian Botanic Garden), the garden beds around Aspects, and the Forrest Car Park roundabout. To help locate these sites, you may download the Western Australian Botanic Garden brochure via our brochures page.