Pultenaea juniperina

Botanical Name: Pultenaea juniperina
Common Name: prickly beauty (Tas), prickly bush-pea
Family: Fabaceae

Size: 0.5-2.5m H, 1-2m W
Leaves: 8-12mm long. Crowded, mostly narrow linear shape, with sharp point.  Grows rigidly at right angles to its shortleaf stem (pedicel) which is pressed close to the branch.
Flowers: Yellow pea with a darker keel; solitary from leaf axil, or 2-3 clusters from higher axils, particularly from short lateral branches.
Flowering Time: Spring - Summer, and sporadic
Fruit: Obliquely oval shaped, fat pod

Habitat/distribution: Wide-ranging and common, from sea-level to 1000m, in wet and dry eucalypt forests, less common in South -West wilderness or West coastal areas, or the Midlands where it has been cleared for the pastoral industry.Also, Vic and NSW.
Where to See: Carr Villa (Ben Lomond), Dial Ranges for example.
Other notes: Not suitable for cultivation because of its invasiveness from tough underground stems.  Provides shelter for small birds as it grows in thickets.