Common Name

Chinocup Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Known only from near Nyabing, south-western W.A.

Description

Shrubs 0.5–2 m tall. Branchlets shortly pilose; raised leaf bases becoming prominent on older parts. Phyllodes crowded, scattered or subverticillate, patent (erect on new shoots), ±straight, terete or slightly compressed, slender, 5–8 mm long, 0.3–0.4 mm wide, with obliquely narrowed and excentrically mucronulate apex, glabrous or sparsely pilose; nerves not discernible; glands absent. Inflorescences 1-headed racemes; raceme axis 0.5–1 mm long; peduncles 3–4 mm long, densely puberulous to hirsutellous, the hairs ±wide-spreading and often pale yellow; basal bract solitary; heads globular, 4 mm diam. (dry), 25-flowered, golden; bracteoles acuminate, exserted in buds. Flowers 5‑merous; sepals 1/2–3/4-united, densely pale yellow puberulous. Pods to 2.5 cm long, 4–5 mm wide, pilose, slightly viscid; dehisced valves curved to sigmoid. Seeds longitudinal, ovate, 3–3.5 mm long, shiny, brown; aril subterminal, ±clavate.

Habitat

Grows in sand or sandy loam in open mallee woodland with a dense understorey.

Specimens

W.A.: type locality, K.Newbey 3399 (PERTH).

Notes

Appears most closely related to A. viscifolia, a member of the ‘A. wilhelmiana group’ which is distinguished most readily by its sparse, appressed peduncle indumentum, small bracteoles that are not acuminate or exserted in buds and narrower, glabrous pods; A. viscifolia also normally has appressed branchlet hairs.

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

Minor edits by B.R.Maslin

B.R.Maslin