Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs in the Shark Bay area, W.A., from Wooramel S to Nerren Nerren on the mainland, also on Dorre Is. and Dirk Hartog Is.

Description

Bushy shrub or tree to 5–6 m high. New shoots citron-sericeous; hairs ageing white. Branchlets glabrous. Phyllodes rather spreading, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, ±inequilateral, straight to shallowly falcate, 6–11 cm long, 6–15 mm wide, acuminate, rather glaucous, glabrous, with 2 or 3 (–4) main nerves with numerous fine longitudinally anastomosing venules in between forming a microscopic reticulum. Inflorescences 3–5-headed very reduced racemes, often appearing as axillary fascicles; raceme axes 1–1.5 mm long; peduncles 4–7 mm long, sparsely to densely appressed-puberulous; heads globular, 4–5 mm diam., 35–45-flowered, golden. Flowers 4-merous; sepals c. 1/2-united. Pods submoniliform, strongly raised over and ±constricted between seeds, to 18 cm long, 7–8 mm wide, coriaceous to subwoody, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, broadly elliptic to oblong-elliptic, to 7.5 mm long, subglossy, dark brown; aril large, hood-shaped, orange.

Habitat

Grows in sand and loam, in scrub, shrubland and low woodland.

Specimens

W.A.: Dirk Hartog Is., Apr. 1974, T.Evans (PERTH); 39.5 km S of Overlander Roadhouse on North West Coastal Hwy, B.R.Maslin 2781 (CANB, K, PERTH); Shark Bay, Voyage on H.M.S.Herald, W.G.Milne (K).

Notes

Without known close relatives but superficially similar to A. microbotrya which has 1-nerved phyllodes, heads in elongate racemes, pentamerous flowers and very different aril. Superficially similar in several respects to A. eremaea, another 4-merous species, which differs most obviously in its non-reticulate phyllodes, longer peduncles, non-racemose inflorescences, free sepals and inconspicuous aril.

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