Scientific Name: Daviesia latifolia

Common Name: hop bitterpea

Family Classification (Clade): Eudicots

Family: Fabaceae

Form Description: Open woody shrub.

Height (m): 0.6 – 2

Flowers: Common pea flower with numerous small brown and yellow flowers.

Fruit: Seed pod – flat, triangular, to 10mm. Seed pods become light brown and brittle when ripe. Seed turns from green to black and drops very soon after maturity. Each pod contains 1 seed.

Municipality
Break O’DayBrightonCentral CoastCentral HighlandsCircular HeadClarenceDerwent ValleyDevonportDorsetGeorge TownGlamorgan-Spring BayGlenorchyHobartHuon ValleyKentishKingboroughLatrobeLauncestonMeander ValleyNorthern MidlandsSorellSouthern MidlandsTasmanWest Tamar
Plant Communities
No data available for this species
Habitat Notes

Widespread and locally frequent, especially on banks at roadsides. Prefers semi-shade but will tolerate full sun. Adaptable to most soils.

Frost Tolerance

Hardy

General Notes

Useful in providing low cover (up to 3m) in mixed species windbreaks and for screening. Bird attracting. Useful for honey production and flowers provide excellent nectar for insects and birds. Susceptible to browsing by hares and rabbits. The leaves have medicinal properties and have substituted for hops. Reputedly used as an anthelmintic (i.e. a drug which destroys or expels intestinal worms) by European settlers. A decoction of the leaves was taken to expel hydatid cysts. The leaves were also used as a tonic.

Propagation Calendar

  • Flowering Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Seed Collecting Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Sowing Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Cutting Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Propagation Method
Seed

Seed Information

Seed Treatment Method

Hot Water Hot water is used to soften the hard seed case of some species. This replicates the weathering process. Pour hot (not boiling) water over the seeds and allow them to soak for 4-12 hours.

Seed Treatment Notes

Hot water treatment. Sow thinly before conditions become too warm to avoid problems caused by the seed rotting. Other species of Daviesia establish from direct seeding. Pods may need to be crushed to extract seed.

Germination Time

10-30 days