Miscellaneous
PLANT OF THE WEEK Scientific Name:Kennedia rubicunda; Common name: Dusky Coral Pea, Running Postman Family: Fabaceae Etymology:Kennedia...after John Kennedy, an English nurserymanrubicunda...referring to the colour of the flowersFlowering: Spring with pea like flowers, that is, a standard of 4 petals, a keel and two wings. Grows: 3m high x 3m wide Suitable as a trellis climber or covering embankments. Bird attracting. Kennedia rubicunda This next plant is a climber as we have been taking about climbers for a couple of weeks. It’s got these attractive scarlet to pink flowers but what else? Let’s find out… I'm talking with Adrian O’Malley, qualified horticulturist and native plant expert. PLAY: Kennedia rubicunda_8th July 2020 The running postman title is probably because of the red flowers that appear on this fairly vigorous vine or creeper. Did you also know though that it’s a very useful medicinal plant to grow? Apparently its leaves were bruised and drunk as a tincture when recovering from illness. Don’t know what sort of illness though. Use it as a groundcover, for arches, teepees and vine supports. some will say that it's happy growing in a pot. I can't be sure about that. Dusky Coral Pea does best in full sun but will tolerate part shade. It needs to be protected from frosts. There is another cultivar Kennedia nigricans that Adrian and Marianne mention. This has black and yellow coloured flowers. A cultivar known as Kennedia nigricans 'Minstrel' was registered with the Australian Cultivar Registration Authority by Goldup Nursery of Mount Evelyn, Victoria in September 1985. This cultivar was selected from a batch of seedlings in 1983 and has a pale colouration instead of the yellow, which appears almost white.