Carmichaelia odorata Colenso

A shrub up to 10 ft high in a wild state; young shoots flattened, downy (especially towards the end), 1⁄12 in. wide. Leaves pinnate, 1⁄2 to 1 in. long; leaflets three to seven, each 1⁄8 to 1⁄4 in. long, wedge-shaped, notched at the end, downy, usually falling by early summer. Flowers 1⁄8 to 1⁄6 in. long, lilac-rose, fragrant, packed closely ten to twenty together on racemes 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 in. long; flower-stalk and calyx downy. Pod 1⁄4 in. long, ovate, terminated by a slender beak, one- or two-seeded. Bot. Mag., t. 9479.

Native of New Zealand, up to altitudes of 2,500 ft. It bears a wonderful profusion of blossom in June and July and the slender, pendulous branches give it a graceful shape. It needs a sunny, warm corner and shelter from north and east. The downy shoots and, early in the season, the pinnate downy leaves give distinctive characters. The leaves and leaflets of the larger dimensions given are only found on young seedling plants. There is a specimen 10 to 12 ft high on a wall in the Glasnevin Botanic Garden.