Hardenbergia

Hardenbergia violacea is a lovely little native scrambler, also known under a plethora of other names such as native/false sarsaparilla, happy wander, purple coral pea, and purple twining pea. As one would suspect from the last two names it is indeed in the pea (Fabaceae) family and the flowers are purple! There are white flowered cultivars fairly readily available in nurseries and I have seen pink ones as well, but none for sale yet (otherwise I would be showing you photos of them because I most definitely would have bought one!). The leaves are thick and leathery and remind me a little of Eucalyptus leaves - which also lends towards a very native feel.

They are great at twining up supports or scrambling over the ground to make a low matted ground cover (perfect for little lizards to scurry and take shelter amongst). When in flower they are a great bee and insect magnet, which in turn attracts birds, so really, it’s very much a biodiversity champion!

Honey bee on Hardenbergia violacea

Apparently the early Europeans tried making a sarsaparilla drink from the roots (I’m guessing it didn’t really take off), quite possibly because it looks similar to another native in the same region - Smilax glyciphylla, which is also known as native or sweet sarsaparilla and is much more closely related to the real thing. The original sarsaparilla comes from a few different Smilax species from Mexico and Peru.

But back to Hardenbergia violacea, if you’ve got a sunny spot, you’d do well to put one in. They’re in full bloom late winter to early spring (now), and have textured beauty for the rest of the year.