Carmichaelia juncea Hook.f.

Prostrate, sprawling shrub, up to 0.2 × 1.5 m, forming a flat spreading mat. Branches up to 0.8 m long, procumbent. Cladodes linear, striate, compressed, green to light brown, sparsely covered with hairs, prostrate and ascending, 55-160 × 1.5-2 mm; apex subacute, green or light brown; leaf nodes 8-15. Leaves 1-3(-5)-foliolate, fleshy; adaxial surface mottled brown, brown-green or green; abaxial surface green; apex emarginate to retuse; base cuneate to obtuse; margin glabrous to sparsely hairy, sometimes partially sinuate. Single or terminal leaflet oblong, 5.5-14 × 2-4 mm; adaxial and abaxial surfaces hairy. Lateral leaflets obovate, 3-5 × 1-2.5 mm; adaxial and abaxial surfaces glabrous to sparsely hairy; petiole hairy, 4-8 mm long; petiolule glabrous, 0.1-0.3 mm long. Leaves on cladodes reduced to a scale, triangular, glabrous, < 1 mm long; apex acute. Stipules free, broad-triangular, 0.5-0.8 × c. 1 mm; apex subacute; margin hairy; thinly herbaceous at first but becoming dry and membranous. Inflorescence a raceme, 1(-2) per node, each with 4-6 flowers. Peduncle hairy, green, 2-4 mm long. Bracts triangular, glabrous, < 0.5 mm long; apex acute; margin hairy. Pedicel hairy, pale green and usually flushed red, 1-1.5 mm long. Bracteoles on pedicel, triangular, glabrous, 0.3- 0.4 mm long; apex acute; margin hairy. Calyx campanulate, c. 1.5 × c. 1.25 mm; inner surface glabrous, green, occasionally flushed red; outer surface glabrous, green. Calyx lobes broad-triangular to triangular, c. 0.1 mm long; apex subacute, often flushed red; margin hairy. Bud pale green. Standard obovate, patent, 4-5 × 4-5 mm; distal and central areas of adaxial surface purple, margins and proximal area white, sometimes purple-veined; distal and central areas of abaxial surface white, proximal area green, sometimes purple-veined; apex retuse; margins recurved; claw pale green, c. 1.5 mm long. Wings oblong, longer than keel, 3.5-4 × 1-1.5 mm; adaxial and abaxial surfaces white, sometimes purple- veined; auricle rounded, pale green, < 0.5 mm long; claw pale green, 1-1.5 mm long. Keel (Fig. 1B) c. 4.5 × c. 1.5 mm; distal area of adaxial surface purple, white in central and proximal areas; abaxial surface white, sometimes purple-veined; auricle rounded, white, c. 0.15 mm long; claw pale green, 1.5-2 mm long. Stamens c. 3.5 mm long; lower filaments connate for c. 2/3 of length and with outside filaments free for c. 1 mm. Pistil similar length to stamens, 3-3.5 mm long; style with a ring of hairs below stigma; ovules 4-10. Pod oblong, weakly dorsally compressed, valves inflated, dark greyblack, indehiscent, rarely weakly dehiscent at proximal end, 3.5-6 × 1.75-2 mm; beak on adaxial suture, slightly curved, stout, pungent, 0.25-0.5 mm long. Seeds oblong-reniform, (1-)2-4(-6) per pod, brick red, orange, olive green, or green-yellow, often with black mottling, 1.25-1.5 × c. 1 mm. FL Oct-Jan, FT Nov-Mar.

[Reproduced from Heenan (1995, New Zealand J. Bot. 33: 455-475) with permission from The Royal Society of New Zealand.]