#kennedia

Kennedia nigricans

27-SEP-2025

Kennedia nigricans

This plant is a rather rampant-growing vine from Western Australia, belonging to the Pea Family (Fabaceae). Its flowers are not large, but they are remarkable for their black color, with a dab of yellow on one side (the flowers pictured have their yellow side toward the camera, so that the black is less prominent than it would be from another angle).

AKA Black Coral Pea. Unlike its scarlet relative, a vigorous climber. Native to Western Australia, but grown in gardens for the unusual flowers, as a climber or ground cover. Drought tolerants and mildly frost tolerant. In the wild it flowers from July to November. 

AKA Wollung, Scarlet Runner and Scarlet Coral Pea. Named after John Kennedy (1759 – 1842), a nurseryman at Hammersmith, London and the growth habit sending long runners out along the ground.

A prostrate shrub to 2 metres in diameter, growing in sandy soil and sunny areas in all states bar Tasmania, flowering from July to November. Indigenous people collected the nectar to soothe sore throats, the leaves to make a refreshing drink, and the stems for twine. It’s also grown as a garden plant.