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Hardenbergia violacea
Also called Native Lilac, Purple Coral Pea, Vine Lilac, False Sarsaparilla, Purple Twining Pea, Wild Sarsaparilla, False Sasparilla
Coral-pea (Hardenbergia violacea) is a prostrate or climbing sub-shrub native to eastern and south-eastern Australia, grown for its purple pea-like flowers in late winter and spring. It needs full sun and well-drained soil and regrows from its roots after fire.
Hardenbergia violacea is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is known in Australia by the common names false sarsaparilla, purple coral pea, and waraburra. Elsewhere it is also called purple twining-pea, vine-lilac, and wild sarsaparilla. It is a prostrate or climbing subshrub with egg-shaped to narrow lance-shaped leaves and racemes of mostly purple flowers.
Hardenbergia violacea is widely grown as a garden plant, with many cultivars now available. It is hardy in mild and coastal areas of the United Kingdom where temperatures do not fall below −5 °C (23 °F), but it does require a sheltered, south or west facing situation. Alternatively it may be grown indoors with full daylight, for instance in an unheated conservatory or greenhouse. It has been given the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
The seeds of H. violacea remain viable for many years and propagation is from seeds that have been treated by adding boiling water to them or by abrading the seed coat. Plants prefer full sun in well-drained soil, are moderately frost-tolerant and respond well to pruning.
Hardenbergia violacea grows in a variety of habitats but is more common in open forests, woodlands and undisturbed areas, from sea level to about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level. It occurs in eastern Queensland, eastern New South Wales, south-eastern Victoria and southern South Australia. There is a single population in Tasmania, where the species is listed as "endangered" under the Tasmanian Government Threatened Species Protection Act 1995.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hardenbergia violacea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
