About Hovea lorata I.Thomps.
Hovea lorata I.Thomps. is a shrub that typically grows up to 3 meters (9.8 feet) tall, with brownish hairs covering most of its structures. Its leaves are strap-shaped, measuring 25–55 millimeters (0.98–2.17 inches) long and 3.5–8.5 millimeters (0.14–0.33 inches) wide, with stipules 0.5–1 millimeter (0.020–0.039 inches) long at the leaf base. Flowers are usually arranged in groups of two or three on a peduncle that reaches up to 4.5 millimeters (0.18 inches) long, and each individual flower sits on a pedicel 2–14 millimeters (0.079–0.551 inches) long. The flowers have egg-shaped bracts 0.7–1.6 millimeters (0.028–0.063 inches) long at the base, with slightly larger bracteoles also present at the base. Sepals are joined at the base to form a tube 2.2–2.7 millimeters (0.087–0.106 inches) long; the upper sepal lip is 2.2–2.8 millimeters (0.087–0.110 inches) wide, and the lower sepal lip is 3–4 millimeters (0.12–0.16 inches) wide. All petals are mauve in overall color: the standard petal is 6–8.2 millimeters (0.24–0.32 inches) long and 7–9.7 millimeters (0.28–0.38 inches) wide, with a greenish-yellow base surrounded by a deep mauve border; the wing petals are 5.7–6.3 millimeters (0.22–0.25 inches) long; the keel petal is 5.0–5.6 millimeters (0.20–0.22 inches) long. Flowering takes place from July to October, and the fruit is a more or less round pod that measures 10–15 millimeters (0.39–0.59 inches) long and 8–14 millimeters (0.31–0.55 inches) wide. This pea species grows in forest and woodland habitats on sandy or rocky soils. It ranges from south-eastern Queensland to the Mount Royal Range in New South Wales, with an isolated outlier population near Longreach in central Queensland.
