This is one of my all time favourite plants. It is an Australian native plant. In the wild, this climber grows in forest/woodland and in coastal scrub. The distribution of this climber covers the majority of NSW, along with Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. In the clay soils of western Sydney and the Illawarra region of NSW, there is a form that is bushier and more erect than the more common climbing form of the species. The common names for this plant are native sasparilla and purple coral pea.

All binomial names (the fancy ‘Latin’ names) have specific meanings, with words coming from several languages (not only Latin). These names can often give a clue as to a particular feature of the plant in question. In this instance, Hardenbergia has been used to honour Frances (or Franziska), the Countess of Hardenberg as she cared for her brother’s (Baron Huegal) plant specimens at home whilst the Baron was travelling. Violacea means ‘violet-like’, due to the colour of the flowers.

The flowers are purple with tiny yellow spots in the middle. Rarely, the flowers can be pink or white. As is typical of many plants in this family, the flowers are of the typical pea shape (see photos). They appear in axillary racemes between July and October every year, which is late winter to early spring here in Australia. The fruit is an oblong pod, uto 45 mm long, with the seeds inside being 4-5mm long.

The leaves are oblong to cordate (heart-shaped), with an entire margin (the edge of a leaf with no notches in it). The veins of the leaf stand out clearly on the dark glossy green and leathery leaves.

Purple coral pea is can be grown in most soil types, with plants located in sunnier postions usually putting on a better show of flowers. If you want to grow this plant in your garden, please ensure (as far as possible) that you buy a form of the plant that is from your climatic area. This is because this plant grows across a range of climatic contions, meaning the plants from a wetter or more tropical area will not grow as well in a drier region, with the opposite also being true.

You can propagate this plant from seed or from cuttings, using this seasons firm growth. With seeds, you will need to pre-treat them to break the dormancy of the seeds. To do this, you can rub the seeds between two sheets of sandpaper, reducing the thickness of the seed coat to allow water through. Alternatively, you can pour boiling water over the seeds and leave to stand overnight. The next day, any swollen seeds can be planted. For either method, sewing can be carried out using normal sewing methods.

I really like this plant because it really brightens up the garden in which it sits when in flower due to the lovely purple flowers set against the green of its leaves. It is also quite a delicate looking climber, so doesnt overpower everything around it.

• https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl? page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Hardenbergia~violacea-accessed 21/08/2022
• anpsa.org.au/plant_profiles/hardenbergia-violaceae-accessed 21/08/2022
• Fairley, A., Moore, P., 2010, Native Plants of the Sydney Region, Third Edition, Jacana Books, Crows Nest, NSW, Australia
• Robinson, L., 2003, Field Guide to the Native Plants of Australia, Thired Edition, Simon & Schuster (Australia) Pty Ltd., Cammeray, NSW, Australia
• All photos are my own from my travels around Sydney