A large family of around 12,000 species that cover a wide range of life forms from annuals to rainforest trees. Widespread in tropical and temperate regions, and the source of many economically important food plants, fodder crops, ornamentals, timber species and weeds. Western Australia has around 90 genera with 650 species including over 90 weedy species.Aeschynomene indica (Budda pea) is an erect, sparsely-hairy annual or short-lived perennial to 2 m tall. It has pinnate leaves with entire leaflets, and yellow flowers streaked with orange, produced from March to June. The pods are rough and warty. A pantropical weed, possibly native to South America. A. villosa is a sprawling herb to 50cm high, with pinnate leaves that have toothed leaflets and usually react to being touched by folding up. Flowers are yellow or pink, produced in June. The pods are not warty and are covered in fine, dark hairs. Recorded from a swamp near Wyndham. Native to South America.
Legume flower, LB
Alysicarpus vaginalis (alyce clover) is a dense, spreading perennial herb, with simple leaves. The flowers are pink, in sprays, both terminal and from the leaf axils, during April and May. Pods cylindrical, deep maroon. It is a common lawn weed throughout the Kimberley and has also been recorded from other disturbed sites. It is occurs from Africa to New Guinea, and is probably introduced to Western Australia.Canavalia ensiformis (jack bean, sword bean) is a sparsely hairy, spreading shrub, with the leaves composed of three leaflets. Sprays of pale purple or pink, 3cm sized flowers, are produced from the leaf axils between May and July. A few occurrences near settlements in the Kimberley. Probably naturalised, it is widely cultivated in the tropics and originated from tropical America.Centrosema pubescens (centro) is a perennial vine, prostrate or scrambling to 3m tall. The ovate, hairy leaves have three leaflets, to 5cm long. The inflorescence is short, to 5cm, with pinkish-mauve flowers produced from May to October. It is native to South America and introduced for forage. It has been recorded from disturbed sites around Kununurra.
Aeschynomene indica
, RR
Chamaecytisus palmensis (was Cytisus proliferus) (tree lucerne, tagasaste) is an upright bushy shrub or small tree to 4m, with drooping, softly-hairy branches and leaves with three leaflets. The scented, creamy-white flowers are produced in winter and early spring. Native to the Canary Islands, it is extensively planted as a fodder shrub or for land rehabilitation. Tagasaste regenerates prolifically from seed and has naturalised in almost all areas where it has been planted, from Badgingarra to Esperance, along roadsides or in adjacent bushland. On lateritic soils in higher rainfall areas it is a serious invader of disturbed bushland.
Chamaecytisus
palmensis
, RR
Clitoria ternatea (butterfly pea) is a climbing perennial, with sparsely hairy leaves usually with five leaflets. The flowers are large, to 5cm, solitary or in pairs, blue with a yellow blotch in the centre, produced between April and June. A garden escape, naturalised on creek banks and around waterholes throughout the Kimberley; also around coastal settlements in the Pilbara and Gascoyne. Pantropical, probably native to tropical America.
Clitoria
ternatea
, PH
Crotalariais a large genus of some 600 species, with 18 in Western Australia. Two are almost certainly introduced, but for many others it is difficult to say whether they are native or introduced into Australia. For exact identification, a specialist text should be consulted. C. goreensis (Gambia pea) is a native of tropical Africa and is sometimes cultivated as a green manure. It is a slightly-hairy annual or perennial to 2.5m, with narrow trefoil leaves and terminal sprays of yellow flowers about 1cm in size, flowering from April to June. Naturalised in the north and east Kimberley. C. juncea (sunnhemp) is a slightly-hairy annual to 3m tall, with ribbed branches. The leaves are narrowly elliptic and are not divided into leaflets. Terminal sprays of yellow flowers, about 1.5cm in size, flowering March to May. It is a widespread weed of creek edges in the Kimberley. Native to India, often cultivated and now pantropical. Suspected of poisoning stock.
Crotalaria juncea, GR
Desmodium tortuosum(Florida beggarweed) is a somewhat hairy, erect shrub to 3m with trefoil leaves with ovate leaflets and sprays of small pink flowers produced from April to May, both terminal and from the leaf axils. Naturalised in disturbed woodland on the Mitchell Plateau and on Koolan Island. Native to tropical America. Dipogon lignosus (dolichos pea) is a rampant, twining perennial, spreading by seed and rhizomes, with bright green trefoil leaves with ovate leaflets. Flowers produced in sprays from the leaf axils during spring.
Dipogon
lignosus
, PH
Each flower up to 1.5cm in size, white, pink or purple. It is often planted in gardens, especially on the coast, and has naturalised from Israelite Bay to Perth in wetter sites. Native to South Africa.
Dipogon
lignosus
, RR
Erythrina x sykesii (coral tree) is a fast-growing deciduous tree with large trefoil leaves and brilliant scarlet flowers produced before the leaves at the start of winter. Often planted, it will grow from broken branches and can be found along river edges between Perth and Bunbury. Originally from India, the most usually planted form is a garden hybrid.
Erythrina
x sykesii , GK
