Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Restricted to Coorow–Three Springs area, south-western W.A.

Description

Shrub 0.5–2.5 m high, dense, domed, spreading. Branchlets glabrous or sparsely and minutely subappressed-hirsutellous with pale yellow hairs, very resinous when young. Stipules 0.5–1.5 mm long. Phyllodes inequilaterally narrow-elliptic (upper margin the more curved), subfalcate, rarely straight, 2.5–4 cm long, 4–8 mm wide, acute, dark green to dull grey-green, normally glabrous, with 5–10 longitudinal resinous nerves, anastomoses few; gland inconspicuous, basal. Inflorescences simple in axillary pairs or more commonly 1- or 2-headed rudimentary racemes; raceme axes 0.5–1 mm long and growing out at anthesis; peduncles 5–8 mm long, glabrous or hirsutellous with golden or white ±appressed hairs, resinous; heads globular, 4.5–5 mm diam., 18–25-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous, resinous; sepals 1/2–3/4-united. Pods linear, to 6 cm long, 2–3 mm wide, thinly coriaceous-crustaceous, resinous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, obloid, 3.5–4 mm long, dark brown; aril terminal.

Habitat

Grows in sandy clay and hard granitic clay loam in Melaleuca uncinata shrubland on or near breakaways, or along watercourses in open Wandoo (Eucalyptus wandoo) woodland.

Specimens

W.A.: 10 km due N of Coorow, road No. 43, 2.5 km of road No. 5, B.R.Maslin 6580 (K, MEL, PERTH); Dookanooka Nature Reserve, c. 15 km due SW of Three Springs, S.Patrick 1367 (PERTH).

Notes

Similar to A. vittata which has longitudinally striped branchlets and strongly undulate 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, B.R.Maslin