Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs in northern W.A.

Description

Glabrous shrub or tree to c. 6 m high. Bark smooth, brown, pruinose. Branchlets compressed terete, light brown, ±pruinose. Phyllodes obliquely narrowly elliptic, abruptly narrowed at base, 5–15 cm long, 20–45 mm wide, with curved upper margin and ±straight to curved lower margin, slightly pruinose, with 3 or 4 very prominent main nerves (lower 2 concurrent near base); minor nerves 2 per mm, anastomosing with small reticulations in larger nerve-islands; gland 1, basal, to 0.5 mm above pulvinus. Spikes 4–6 cm long, pale yellow. Flowers loosely arranged, 5-merous; calyx 0.4–0.5 mm long, dissected to 1/6–1/5, glabrous; corolla c. 1.8 mm long, dissected to base, glabrous; ovary glabrous. Pods linear, raised over and constricted between seeds, ±twisted, 5–8 cm long, thinly coriaceous, glabrous, ±pruinose. Seeds longitudinal, narrowly oblong-elliptic, 4–4.5 mm long, dark brown; pleurogram without halo; areole elongated, open, depressed.

Phenology

Flowers: June & July.

Habitat

Found on seasonally inundated, sandstone flats overlain by shallow skeletal alluvium, dissected by outcropping ridges of massive sandstone, or in sandy soil among quartzite rocks on the banks of streams.

Specimens

W.A.: western bend, Glenelg R., C.A.Gardner 9674 (BRI, PERTH); Camp Ck, c. 12 km SW of mining camp, Mitchell Plateau, N Kimberley, K.F.Kenneally 8222 (K, PERTH).

Notes

The coiled pods resemble those of A. leptocarpa.

FOA Reference

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

Author

Minor edits by J.Rogers

Dr M.D.Tindale and Dr P.G.Kodela with the assistance of M.Bedward, S.J.Davies, C.Herscovitch, D.A.Keith and/or D.A.Morrison