Scale-leaf poison  |  

Gastrolobium appressum, Family Fabaceae, also known as Scale-leaf Poison, is a small
woody shrub, growing up to 50 cm high, with young branches covered with fine white hairs.
It has pale green leathery leaves which have short stalks and end in a fine, sometimes slightly
hooked point. Leaves are hairless, up to 1 cm long and 0.3 cm wide, and are arranged in
whorls of three. They are closely pressed against the stem and often overlap the adjacent leaf
whorls, so that the stem is hidden. There are no stipules at the base of the short leaf stalk. The
typical pea flowers are borne above the leaves in several whorls of three, clustered at the ends
of the branchlets. They are pea flower-shaped with a lobed, 2-lipped calyx. The three lobes of
the lower lip are lanceolate in shape and pointed at their tips. The petals are orange-yellow
and reddish-purple. The fruit is a hairy pod containing two hard seeds. The flowering period is
from September to November (Brown et al., 1998).