Common Name

Echidna Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Highly localised near Lake Grace, south-western W.A.

Description

Prostrate shrub, forming mats to 5 cm high and 0.5 m or more across. Branchlets spinose, sparsely appressed-puberulous. Leaves bipinnate, ±glabrous; pinnae 1 pair, 2–4 mm long; petiole 3–4 mm long; pinnules 3–4 pairs, narrowly oblong to oblong-oblanceolate, 2–3 mm long, c. 1 mm wide, asymmetrically narrowed at apex, milky green to subglaucous; gland near distal end of petiole, sessile. Inflorescences simple, 1 per axil; peduncles 10–20 mm long, glabrous or appressed-puberulous; heads globular, 12–15-flowered, light golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals c. 3/4-united. Pods narrowly oblong, 1–2 cm long, c. 3 mm wide, ±firmly chartaceous; margins somewhat thickened. Seeds not seen.

Phenology

Flowers Dec.–Jan.

Habitat

Grows on laterite hills in scrub, open heath and low shrubland.

Specimens

W.A.: type locality, M.D.Tindale 170 & B.R.Maslin (NSW, PERTH).

Notes

A distinctive species on account of its prostrate habit, spinescent branchlets and unijugate leaves with long petioles. Precise affinities to other members of sect. Pulchellae are unclear, fide P.Guinet et al., Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 80: 53–68 (1980).

Conservation

Gazetted a rare species in W.A.

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