Common Name

Western Karri Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Restricted to between Witchcliffe and Augusta, south-western W.A., most common W of Karridale.

Description

Shrub 2–5 m high. Branchlets puberulous; hairs normally tubercule-based. Pinnae 3–6 pairs, 2–6 mm long (proximal pinnae) otherwise 15–50 mm long; petiole c. 1 mm long; rachis 15–55 mm long; pinnules 2 or 3 pairs (proximal pinnae) otherwise 7–13 pairs, ±oblong, ±sessile and obliquely truncate at base, 3–6 mm long, 1.5–3 mm wide, slightly recurved, green, ±scabridulous; gland on rachis between the two lowermost pairs of pinnae, ±subsessile, bowl-shaped. Inflorescences rudimentary 2–4 headed racemes with axes > 1 mm long, normally 1 per axil; peduncles 7–17 mm long, puberulous; heads globular, 15–20-flowered, creamy white to very pale yellow. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 3/4–5/6-united. Pods to 4 cm long, 4–6 mm wide, coriaceous-crustaceous, shortly pilose. Seeds transverse to oblique (a few longitudinal), oblong to elliptic, 2–2.5 mm long.

Habitat

Grows in sand over limestone in Karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor) forest.

Specimens

W.A.: Cape Leeuwin, Oct. 1905, C.Andrews (PERTH); Mammoth Cave, c. 7 km due SW of Witchcliffe, B.R.Maslin 3210 (PERTH).

Notes

Most readily distinguished from A. pentadenia by its hairy vegetative parts and peduncles and its solitary foliar gland. Both species grow in Karri forest but their distributions do not overlap.

FOA Reference

Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia

Author

B.R.Maslin