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| Chequered Swallowtail Plant Profile |
| Article by Lois Hughes, March, 2001 | |
Emu Foot (Cullen tenax) formerly Psoralea tenax Fabaceae
Larval Host for: Chequered Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus) possibly also a host plant for the Common Grass Blue (Zizina labradus)
Height: 16 cm (6") approx.
Form: A perennial ground cover legume with soft divided (digitate spreading like the fingers of a hand or in this case like the toes on an emu s foot) leaves on a stiff, erect, fine stalk, which softly trails over the ground or tumbles over walls and rocks.
Flowers: Numerous, insignificant lilac pea flowers arranged around a stalk. Clusters of black seeds indicate that the seed head is ready for collecting and planting.
Cultivation: Seeds readily germinate, sometimes in a week in hot weather and transplant easily. The plants make good growth in summer but slow down considerably in winter. (Mine become very bedraggled as we have frost here.) They prefer a sunny spot, although mine flourish in part shade. Plant seedlings (or seeds) close together to form a dense cover. The tiny leaves disappear quickly when the caterpillars reach their final instar and the dense cover provides more protection from some predators.
Diseases: My plants experience mildew of some sort and something else which cause yellow/brown mottling on the leaves and they fall. Both problems are insignificant to the overall vigour of the plant.
Distribution: As the butterfly is distributed almost Australia-wide, other members of the Cullen family are listed as host plants in other districts and States of Australia. Butterflies of Australia by Michael Braby has an extensive list and a there is a somewhat shorter one in Common and Waterhouse. C. tenax is listed for some areas of Queensland. Contact the Club for the plant listed in your area if you have no reference books.
This Plant Profile was written by Lois Hughes and appeared in Newsletter Issue Number 20, March, 2001.
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