Daviesia, commonly known as Bitter-peas, is a large genus of flowering plants in the legume family. They are native to Australia, with a centre of diversity in Western Australia.
The genus is named in honour of Hugh Davies, a Welsh botanist. They have nitrogen-fixing bacteria contained in root nodules like other genera in their family.[1]
The leaves of Daviesia species are like phyllodes. They are usually hard, frequently prickly, frequently circular in section, and sometimes reduced to scales. Some species have cladodes, e.g., D. alata. The roots of many Daviesia species have a mode of secondary thickening in which successive arch-like cambia arise outside the roots of the previous season, creating rope-like structures on the roots.[2][3]
Many members of the genus are nitrogen fixers (and it is thought that probably most are).[3]
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