Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

South-eastern Qld in the Wyberba–Wallangarra region S to the Torrington district in Northern N.S.W.

Description

Multistemmed shrub 0.6–2 m high, bipinnate foliage sometimes persistent. Branchlets shortly ±villous. Phyllodes crowded, some irregularly verticillate or clustered, on short stem-projections, ascending to erect, linear to very narrowly elliptic or linear-oblanceolate, straight to shallowly incurved, flat, 10–25 mm long, 1–2 mm wide, acute and obliquely mucronate, subglabrous or with sparse, spreading hairs, finely rugulose when dry; obscurely 1-nerved, midrib central or excentric; gland inconspicuous, 3–8 mm above pulvinus, sometimes absent. Inflorescences normally 1–3-headed racemes 3–15 mm long, interspersed with some simple ones; peduncles 3–11 mm long, stout, shortly ±villous; heads globular, 30–40-flowered, yellow to bright yellow. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 2/3–5/6-united; petals ciliolate towards apices. Pods narrowly oblong, irregularly curved or twisted, 3–9 cm long, 4–6 mm wide, thinly coriaceous, dark brown to blackish, shortly ±villous but indumentum sometimes sparse. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 4–5 mm long, shiny, black; aril clavate.

Phenology

Flowers Aug.–Oct.

Habitat

Grows on elevated tablelands (900–1200 m) in acidic soils derived from granite, in dry sclerophyll forest.

Specimens

Qld: 8 miles [12.9 km] E of Wyberba, L.Pedley 307 (BRI). N.S.W.: 19 km S of Silent Grove towards Torrington, R.Coveny 2270 (BRI, NSW, PERTH); 6.5 miles [10.5 km] N of Torrington on the Silent Grove rd, R.Coveny 3910 & K.Thurtell (A n.v., AD, BRI, K n.v., NSW, PERTH, U n.v., UC n.v., US n.v.).

Notes

B.R.Maslin, Fl. Australia 11A: 344 (2001), treated this name as synonymous with A. ruppii, however the entity is now considered best regarded as a distinct species. Although A. torringtonensis is closely related to the geographically restricted N.S.W. endemic A. ruppii the latter is normally distinguished by its longer, 4–8-headed racemes and because it grows at lower elevations on soils derived from sandstone.

FOA Reference

Flora of Australia Project

Author

B.R.Maslin