Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs in the Salmon Gums–Grass Patch area (between Norseman and Esperance) and also Peak Charles Natl Park (about 50 km due W of Salmon Gums) and near Dunn Swamp (c. 80 km due NE of Ravensthorpe), south-western W.A.

Description

Obconic shrub 0.7–1.5 m high. Bark smooth, light-grey. Branchlets slightly ribbed, sparsely appressed-puberulous. Phyllodes ascending to erect, narrowly oblanceolate to elliptic-oblanceolate, straight to slightly curved, 1.5–2.5 cm long, 2.5–4 mm wide, l:w = 3.5–7, with an acute or subobtuse mucronate sharply to coarsely pungent apex, rigid, glabrous, with numerous closely parallel ±raised nerves paler than internerve spaces; stomata distinct, raised; gland 1, basal. Inflorescences simple, 2 per axil; peduncles 4–7 mm long, ±appressed-puberulous or glabrous; heads globular, 3–3.5 mm diam., 18–25-flowered, golden; bracteoles obovate to ±spathulate. Flowers 5-merous; sepals ±free. Pods linear, not constricted between seeds, strongly curved to openly 1–1 1/2-coiled, to 6 cm long, 3 mm wide, firmly chartaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, not seen.

Habitat

Grows in loam and on sandy clay plains in low woodland and open shrubland.

Specimens

W.A.: 24.75 km W of Grass Patch, 23.4 km W of Norseman–Esperance Hwy on Grass Patch road, M.A.Burgman 1885 & S.McNee (PERTH); 11.5 km N of Salmon Gums towards Norseman, B.R.Maslin 2456 (CANB, PERTH); 4 km S of Peak Eleanora, Peak Charles Natl Park, c. 45 km W of Salmon Gums, K.Newbey 6340 (PERTH); 15 km E of Dunn Swamp, c. 80 km NE of Ravensthorpe, K.Newbey 8132 (PERTH).

Notes

A member of the ‘A. ancistrophylla group’, differing from other members of the group in its sharply to coarsely pungent phyllodes with the nerves strong, discrete and paler than internerve spaces. Also resembles A. whibleyana but that species, in addition to being well-separated geographically, has wider fruits in which the seeds are arranged obliquely and phyllodes with immersed nerves and obscure stomata. There is a superficial resemblance to A. hadrophylla, which has non-pungent phyllodes and shorter peduncles.

FOA Reference

Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia

Author

B.R.Maslin

R.S.Cowan