About Swainsona galegifolia (Andrews) R.Br.
Swainsona galegifolia, commonly known as smooth Darling pea, is an upright perennial subshrub that reaches around 1 metre (3 feet 3 inches) in height, and has smooth stems. Its grey-green leaves are arranged in opposite pairs along a petiole, with between 11 and 29 leaflets per leaf. Each leaflet is narrowly egg-shaped, measuring 6–20 mm (0.24–0.79 in) long and 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) wide, with a smooth surface. The apex of each leaflet is rounded, notched, or occasionally ends in a small point. Pea-like flowers of this species grow in racemes, with each raceme holding 15 to 20 flowers that may be white, pink, purple, yellow or orange. Individual flowers measure 12–15 mm (0.47–0.59 in) long. The calyx is smooth and shorter than the floral tube. The standard petal is almost orb-shaped, clawed, and grows up to 15 mm (0.59 in) long and 15–20 mm (0.59–0.79 in) wide. The keel is 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long, with a rounded, slightly lipped apex. Flowering occurs in November and December. The fruit is an elliptic, swollen smooth pod, usually 2–40 mm (0.079–1.575 in) long and 8–12 mm (0.31–0.47 in) wide, with a stipe that is often more than 10 mm (0.39 in) long. This is a widespread species that grows in several different habitats across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.
