Hardenbergia violacea (Schneev.) Stearn

Glycine violacea Schneev., Hardenbergia monophylla (Vent.) Benth., Kennedia monphylla Vent.

Fabaceae.

Climbing Morning Glory, False Sarsaparilla, Happy Wanderer, Native Lilac, Purple Coral, Purple Coral Pea, Native Sarsaparilla, Native Woodrose, Purple Twining Pea, Sarsaparilla.

The species is native to Australia, growing in areas from Queensland to Tasmania. It has been introduced to the United States where it is grown as landscape plants.

In Australia the species is found in many habitats, growing widespread along the coast and adjacent ranges in the eastern and southern states on the mainland. It grows in coastal heath and forest and inland in drier eucalypt forests. In Tasmania, it is deemed as endangered, as it is only known from two small natural populations, on private land.

The species is moderately frost tolerant down to 0 to −5 °C and moderately drought tolerant. It thrives in areas with 400–2,400 m mean annual rainfall in summer or winter, mean annual temperature range of 10–21 °C, and tolerates a summer maximum of 33 °C. It grows best in full sun but tolerates light shade in well-drained acidic (<pH 6.5) clay loam, loam, sandy loam or sandy clay loam soils. It is intolerant of salinity.

The leaves are boiled and used to prepare a sweet and pleasant beverage (Cribb and Cribb 1976; Kunkel 1984; Facciola 1990). The roots were also reportedly used in a similar way. The purple flowers are also eaten (Haslam 2011).

A hardy, evergreen, climbing or prostrate, glabrous subshrub with slender, woody stem growing to 2 m long. Leaf simple, ovate-narrow-lanceolate 3–10 cm by 1–5 cm wide, glabrous, dark green above, grey green beneath, leathery, margin entire, venation distinctly reticulate, tip mucronate, base rounded to indented (Plates 1 and 2), petiole 0.5–3 cm long, stipels 1–2 mm long, filiform. Inflorescence axillary, racemose panicle with 20–30 violet or reddish flowers, each axillary unit of 3 flowers with a subtending bract. Calyx 3–4 mm long with two dorsal sepals fully and the rest joined ¾ length; corolla 8 mm long, with violet purple (or red) standard with 2 yellowish white spots at the base, lateral wings on long yellow claw, violet purple and keel also violate purple or red (Plates 1, 2 and 3); stamens 9 joined into a tube and 1 free, diadelphous; ovary 3–3.5 mm long. Pod flattened oblong, 35–50 mm long, glabrous, dark brown to black. Seeds 4–8, reinform, 2.5–3 mm, olive green to brown, strophiolate.