This family contains about 400 species, mostly in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. There are no native species but up to four naturalised ones. A single genus, Fumaria, has been recorded in Western Australia. Most species in this genus are extremely difficult to separate and the number that have naturalised is uncertain. Although six species have been recorded from the State, only three can be distinguished with confidence. All species have divided, hairless leaves. F. capreolata (white fumitory, climbing fumitory) is the only fumitory in the State with creamy white flowers. The tips of the petals are a dark, blackish red and its leaves are bright green. As the fruits ripen, their stalks turn downwards - a character that also distinguishes this species from the pink-flowered species. It sprawls and climbs, its stems sometimes reaching 1m in length. It is commonly associated with settlements from Mullewa to Albany and east to Lake Grace. On the Swan Coastal Plain it is common on wasteland, road verges and shrublands, and on granite rocks in the Darling Range. It is originally from Eurasia and flowers mainly in winter and spring. F. densiflora (narrow-leaved fumitory) has been found in a small number of locations from Northam to Merredin but may have been overlooked elsewhere. Plants may reach 50cm in height. Its leaves are very finely divided, leaflets are channelled and are grey/blue-green. Its flowers are pink with dark red tips, shorter than the other two species described here and are tightly clustered. It is a weed of cropping and roadsides, originally from Europe. It flowers in late winter and spring.
Fumaria capreolata , RR
F. muralis (wall fumitory) is the most common pink flowered species,
also with blackish red tips to the petals. The flowers are
longer than F.
densiflora (9-10mm, compared with 6-7mm) and are in a loose
flower head. The leaflets are broader and greener than
F.
densiflora
and are flat, not channelled. It is found as a weed of
gardens, wasteland, road verges and coastal shrublands from
Moora to Albany - very common in horticultural areas around
Perth. It is particularly abundant in the cropping belt in a
band through Cranbrook, Mount Barker and Gnowangerup.
Flowering time varies with region, from July to as late as
February in the south-west. Native to Europe, this species
may hybridise with F.
capreolata
where they occur together. Plants from the extreme
south-west with larger flowers and a lower petal that tends
to hang down, has been identified as F.
bastardii,
but it may only be a subsp. of F.
muralis,
which it closely resembles. Native to Europe.
F. muralis , RR
