Hardenbergia comptoniana (Native Lilac)

Hardenbergia comptoniana flowers

Photograph by Gnangarra. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

Hardenbergia comptoniana flowers close up

Photograph by Kevin Thiele from Perth. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

Hardenbergia comptoniana covering a trellis, Perth, Western Australia

Photograph by Hesperian. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

Growth Characteristics information is sourced from: State Flora Catalog, Government of South Australia Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license.

NATIVE LILAC FACTS

distribution map showing range of Hardenbergia comptoniana in Australia

Map is from The Atlas of Living Australia web site, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License

Common Name
Native Lilac

Other Names
Wild Sarsaparilla, Wild Wisteria Climber

Description
The Native Lilac is a climbing vine or climbing shrub in the pea family. The leaves usually have three leaflets about 15 cm long and up to 6 cm wide. The pea flowers are mauve or purple-blue and produced in profuse clusters in winter and spring. There are also pink and white flowering forms.

Habitat
sand dunes, sandplains, forest

Distribution
coastal south west of Western Australia from Geraldton to Albany

Growth Characteristics
Height (m):
Spread (m): 2 - 4
Soil Texture: sand, loam, clay
Soil pH: soils with pH less than 8
Frost Sensitivity: sensitive
Minimum Rainfall (mm): 600
Flower Colour: purple
Flower Season: winter, spring

(source: SA State Flora Catalog)

Classification

Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Genus:	Hardenbergia
Species:	comptoniana
Common Name:	Native Lilac

Relatives in same Genus
Hardenbergia violacea 'Happy Wanderer'
Hardenbergia violacea