Common Name

Mueller’s Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs in eastern Qld from N of Carnarvon S to the Bunya Mtns, Kingaroy and Darling Downs, as well as the western slopes of N.S.W. as far W as Dubbo E to the Goulburn R. and S to Rylstone.

Description

Bushy, many-stemmed shrub or tree 1.5–8 m high. Bark smooth, grey, reddish or yellow-brown. Branchlets terete except near apices, glabrous; ridges 0.2–0.3 mm high. Young foliage-tips dark green, glabrous. Leaves subcoriaceous, dark green, ±glabrous; petiole above pulvinus (0.7–) 1–3 (–4) cm long, vertically flattened, deeply sulcate, with 1 glabrous oblong or spherical gland at or near base of lowest pinnae; rachis absent or to 2 cm long, deeply sulcate, with 1 gland at base of each pair of pinnae; pinnae 1 or 2 (rarely 3) pairs, 2–6 cm long, glabrous; pinnules 4–10 pairs, widely spaced, cultrate to linear, 8–30 (–37) mm long, 0.5–1.5 mm wide, slightly narrowed at base, truncate or broadly rounded at apex, with midnerve ±central. Inflorescences rarely in racemes, mostly in axillary or terminal false-panicles; peduncles 1–8 mm long. Heads globular, 5–14-flowered, cream-coloured. Pods slightly to deeply, often irregularly, constricted between seeds, 2.5–13 cm long, 5–7.5 mm wide, subcoriaceous, dark brown or red-brown, ±glabrous.

Phenology

Flowers Aug.–Jan.; fruits Nov. and Dec.

Habitat

Grows in shallow rocky soil in open woodland or scrub on sandstone, conglomerate or basalt.

Specimens

Qld: 10 miles [16.1 km] N of Bell, 5 Dec. 1968, L.Pedley, B.Lebler & M.D.Tindale (A, K, L, NSW, PERTH, US); 52 km N of Warrego Hwy on Auburn Rd, A.N.Rodd 4170 & V.Hando (CANB, K, NSW); Porter’s Gap, Bunya Mtns, 31 Oct. 1960, M.D.Tindale s.n. (NSW). N.S.W.: Murrumbo, R.T.Baker (NSW256556); near Cox’s Gap, R.Coveny 2453 (CHR, K, NSW, PERTH, US).

Notes

Distinguished by its flattened petiole and 1 or 2 pairs of pinnae.

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.Reid & J.Rogers

M.D.Tindale, P.G.Kodela