Common Name

Dawe’s Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Known only from the Pilbara region in northwest W.A. where it has a restricted distribution, in the Hamersley Range and mostly within the Karajini Natl Park (known from four general localities over a distance of about 180 km).

Description

Shrub to 1.5 m high, low, spreading, often ±flat-topped. Bark grey but peeling in a more or less ‘Minni Ritchi’ fashion at base of stems. Branchlets sometimes slightly resinous, sparsely appressed-puberulous to subtomentulose towards apices, sometimes glabrous. Stipules subpersistent, 1–2 mm long. Phyllodes patent to ascending, narrowly elliptic with upper margin more convex, straight to slightly recurved, 3–7 cm long, 6–14 mm wide, acute, coriaceous, green, glabrous or subglabrous, with numerous closely parallel nerves (of which 1–3 more raised) and with occasional anastamoses. Inflorescences simple, 1 per axil; peduncles 5–10 mm long, indumentum as on branchlets; spikes 25–40 mm long, dense, light golden; receptacle ±sparsely puberulous. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united almost to their apices. Pods ±narrowly oblong, constricted between and raised over seeds, to 4 cm long, 5–7 mm wide, ±nerved obliquely, sparsely short-pilose, slightly viscid. Seeds oblique, elliptic, c. 3 mm long, dull, light brown; funicle/aril convoluted, subterminal, yellowish.

Phenology

Flowers June–Aug. (based on few collections).

Habitat

Grows in rocky red loam on lower scree slopes, especially along creek lines among spinifex.

Specimens

W.A.: E side of conical hill 3 km W of Mt Bruce, C.G.Dawe 210 (PERTH); 15 km N of Juna Downs Stn on road to Wittenoom, B.R.Maslin 4628 (PERTH).

Notes

May have originated as a hybrid between A. effusa and A. hamersleyensis. The bark of A. daweana is incompletely of the ‘Minni Ritchi’ type which characterises the first putative parent and is intermediate in some ways in other characters. Both presumed parents occur in the limited range of the species.

FOA Reference

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

Author

Edited by B.R.Maslin

R.S.Cowan, B.R.Maslin