Thursday, October 16, 2008

Necklace Pod


Sophora fraseri
Family: FABACEAE
The necklace pods, are flowering beautifully this year, no doubt appreciating the extra rain they had earlier on.
This is a pretty, waist-high shrub with soft silver-green "ferny" foliage and spikes of yellow pea-flowers.
The common name refers to the seed-pods, which fit snugly around the seeds, giving the impression of a string of up to seven beads.
It typically grows on the drier edges of hoop pine vine forests, particularly on basalt ridges. Once common, it has become rare with the clearing of its habitat, and is now listed as a “vulnerable”, plant. You can still find it growing wild on the ridges in the Kingsthorpe area.
It’s a very drought hardy plant (this one in my garden has never been watered), but does grow better in wetter years, and looks more splendid than this if the grower can afford to water it well.
It makes a lovely show if grown with the type 2 darling pea (see article below), as they flower together, and the pink peas fill in below the yellow ones of the necklace pod.

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