Hovea acanthoclada
Introduction '''''Hovea acanthoclada''''', commonly known as '''thorny hovea''', is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is an upright, prickly shrub with  small dark green leaves and purple-blue pea flowers in winter and spring. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.
Description ''Hovea acanthoclada'' is an upright or prostrate scrambling, stiff shrub  to  high, and needle-shaped, hairy stems, mostly spiny. The leaves are oblong, whorled, flat, hairy,  long and  wide, margins toothed or lobed, pedicel  long and hairy. The bracteoles  long and hairy, calyx  long with simple hairs. The corolla colours vary, mostly blue or violet with occasional markings, standard petal  long and smooth, wings  long, keel  long. Flowering occurs from July to October and the fruit is a dry, smooth pod,  long and  wide.
Taxonomy and naming ''Hovea acanthoclada'' was first formally described in 1863 by Ferdinand von Mueller and the description was published in ''Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae''. The specific epithet (''acanthoclada'') means  "spiny" and "branch".
Distribution and habitat Thorny hovea grows in lateritic soils in the south-west near Ravensthorpe and gravelly locations near Kalgoorlie.
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