Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Discontinuous, occurring in the Lake King area SE to c. 40 km NNW of Munglinup and E to near Grasspatch, Clyde Hill (c. 70 km N of Esperance) and in the Mt Andrew–Ponier Rock area (SW of Balladonia), W.A.

Description

Shrub 0.4–1 m high, low-spreading to domed, ±dense. Branchlets terete, densely puberulous or strigulose with very short straight appressed to suberect hairs which soon become embedded in a hard normally white resin. Phyllodes inclined to erect, straight to slightly arcuate, terete, 1–2 cm long, 0.8–1.2 mm diam., ±abruptly contracted to pulvinus, rounded-obtuse and excentrically micro-mucronulate, glabrous, ±resinous, with 12–16 fine normally slightly raised nerves. Inflorescences simple, 2 per axil; peduncles 2–4.5 mm long, glabrous; basal bract persistent, triangular to broadly ovate; heads globular, 2.5–3 mm diam., 9–12-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free or rarely partly united; petals free. Pods (submature) linear, undulate, strongly raised over seeds on alternate sides, slightly curved, 3–3.5 cm long, 3 mm wide, chartaceous or thinly coriaceous, glabrous. Seeds (submature) longitudinal; aril lateral.

Habitat

Grows in sand, sandy loam or clay, in low open woodland, tall mallee shrubland and low open shrubland.

Specimens

W.A.: 30 km W of Ponier Rock, c. 80 km SW of Balladonia Motel, Eyre Hwy, K.Newbey 7315 (PERTH); 36 km E of Lake King, K.Newbey 9475 (MELU, PERTH); loc. id., K.Newbey 9475-1 (MELU, PERTH); loc. id., K.Newbey 9475-2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (PERTH).

Notes

A member of the ‘A. dielsii group’, related most closely to A. dielsii which has non-resinous branchlets, larger, cucullate basal peduncular bracts and very different pods. Also superficially similar to A. pinguiculosa subsp. teretifolia which has thicker, 6- or 8-nerved phyllodes, longer peduncles and biconvex pods.

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