Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Of scattered occurrence in a small area NE of Kalannie in the north-central wheatbelt region of south-western W.A.

Description

Somewhat spindly, straggly shrub 2–3 m high, crowns openly branched and not densely foliaged, often clonal. Bark generally red to brown or bronze. Branchlets glabrous. Phyllodes wide-spreading, linear to narrowly elliptic, straight to shallowly curved, 7.5–15 cm long, 5–13 (–17) mm wide (broadest on young plants), acute to acuminate, thinly coriaceous, pale green to subglaucous, glabrous; 1-nerved; glands not prominent, 1 or 2, the lowermost normally 10–50 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences racemose; raceme axes (1–) 2–6.5 (–9) cm long and glabrous; peduncles 4–6 mm long, glabrous; heads globular, 20–30-flowered, golden; bracteoles rather sparsely whitish fimbriolate. Flowers 5-merous; sepals about 5/6-united. Pods linear to sub-moniliform, mostly 5–8 cm long, 5–6 mm wide, thinly coriaceous to firmly chartaceous, dark brown, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, 4–5 mm long, c. 3 mm wide, dull, black; funicle yellow to greenish yellow (fresh), drying light brown or dark red-brown, 1/2–3/4 encircling the seed in a single fold.

Specimens

W.A.: 27 km due N of Kalannie, Glamoff Rd 0.5 km W of Goodlands Rd, B.R.Maslin 7706 (PERTH); about 22 km due E of Kalannie, on Scotsman Rd 0.3 km E of Kulja Central Rd, B.R.Maslin 7863 (PERTH).

Notes

This taxon is a member of the ‘Acacia microbotrya group’; its status needs to be more comprehensively assessed within the context of a review of the W.A. members of the group. It appears to be most closely related to A. jennerae but differs most obviously in having a sparser crown, generally longer, less glaucous phyllodes with the lowermost gland generally further removed from the pulvinus, different bracteole hairs, narrower pods and smaller seeds with the funicle drying light brown or dark red-brown.

FOA Reference

Flora of Australia Project

Author

B.R.Maslin