Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs discontinuously from Byro Stn (c. 250 km due WNW of Meekatharra) S to Morawa and E to Cue (c. 65 km due N of Mount Magnet) with two populations slightly outside this range, one at Mary Spring (c. 120 km due NW of Mullewa), the other at Watheroo (c. 120 km due S of Morawa), W.A.

Description

Shrub 1–4 m high. Branchlets terete, glabrous. New shoots often golden appressed-puberulous. Phyllodes ascending to erect, straight, terete, (6–) 7.5–12 (–16.5) cm long, c. 1 mm diam., acuminate with a slender curved appressed-puberulous (sometimes partly glabrescent) tip, semi-rigid, glabrous (except tip), strongly 8-nerved (deeply furrowed in between); gland distinct, 2–15 mm above pulvinus; pulvinus slender, 2–4 mm long. Inflorescences simple, 1 or 2 per axil; peduncles mostly 5–8 mm long, appressed-puberulous; heads globular, 5–6 mm diam., densely 40–87-flowered, golden; bracteoles spathulate to subpeltate. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free. Pods linear, not strongly raised over or constricted between seeds, 6–10 cm long, 5–6 mm wide, coriaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, broadly elliptic, compressed, 4.5 mm long, with crested periphery, dull, black, arillate.

Habitat

Grows on laterite or granite hills, outcrops and breakaways, in white to red or brown sand, rocky sand, clay or loam, in open scrub often dominated by Acacia spp.

Specimens

W.A.: Watheroo, Aug. 1953, C.Andrews (PERTH); Mary Spring, Kalbarri Natl Park boundary, D.R.Bellairs 1609 (MEL, PERTH); 50.1 km S of Yalgoo towards Paynes Find, R.Cumming 1993 (AD, NSW, PERTH); 9.6 km E of Morawa, J.R.Knox 650813 (PERTH).

Notes

A member of the ‘A. fragilis group’. The deeply furrowed phyllodes with strongly raised nerves distinguish A. aulacophylla from all its relatives, of which A. assimilis is perhaps closest in spite of the difference in nerve number in the phyllodes.

FOA Reference

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

Author

R.S.Cowan, B.R.Maslin