Hovea lanceolata
Encyclopedia
Hovea lanceolata is a shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 in the pea family
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...

, native to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It grows up to 2 metres tall and is found on rocky areas, sandy soils and ridges. Usually growing west of the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...

 in northern New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 and Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

.

The leaves are mostly lanceolate in shape, though sometimes elliptic or narrow-oblong. Leaves 3 to 7 cm long. The lower leaf surface is a hairy grey/brown colour. The leaf tip varies; sometimes pointed, blunt or notched. Small branches are covered in dense curled grey hairs.

Flowers form on raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...

s or sometimes just a cluster of a few flowers. Flowers are 10 to 12 mm long, in varying shades of purple. The fruit pod is densely hairy, around 12 mm long.

The Lanceolate Hovea may be seen in Mount Kaputar National Park
Mount Kaputar National Park
Mount Kaputar National Park is a national park in Australia, surrounding the proximities of Mount Kaputar, a volcano active between 17 and 21 million years ago. It is located east of Narrabri and northwest of Sydney. Millions of years of erosion have since carved the volcanic region into the...

where spectacular displays of flowers occur in early spring.
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