Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs from near Wongan Hills and Mukinbudin S to Pingelly and Hyden with disjunct occurrences in the Geraldton region, south-western W.A.

Description

Shrub to 3 (–4) m high, dense, erect. Branchlets sericeous between resin ribs. Phyllodes ascending or spreading, shallowly to moderately incurved, quadrangular in section with a broad nerve at apex of each angle, (2.5–) 4–8 (–11) cm long, 0.5–0.7 mm wide, slender, glabrous or ±sparsely appressed-puberulous, often resinous; gland obscure, ±2 mm above base. Inflorescences simple, 1 or 2 per axil; heads sessile, globular to subglobular, sometimes obloid, 4–7 mm diam., 13–24 (–28)-flowered, golden. Flowers 4-merous; sepals united. Pods linear, constricted between seeds, to 6 cm long, 2–3 mm wide, thinly coriaceous-crustaceous, glabrous or antrorsely strigulose. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 2.5–3 mm long, mottled brown and grey; aril almost as long as seed.

Habitat

Grows in yellow sand, lateritic gravel and loam, occasionally on salt flats, in scrub and shrubland.

Specimens

W.A.: S of Yuna, A.M.Ashby 2153 (PERTH); Konnongorring, near Wongan Hills, E.H.Ising 43 (PERTH); 1.6 km due SE of Hines Hill, B.R.Maslin 1722 (CANB, K, MEL, PERTH); c. 1 km S of Hotham R. crossing towards Katanning, B.R.Maslin 3760 (BRI, CANB, K, MEL, NSW, PERTH).

Notes

Often referred earlier to A. filifolia Benth. which has larger heads and longer phyllodes. Also related to A. merinthophora.

A variant with short phyllodes (2.5–4 cm long) is represented by widely scattered occurrences from near Hines Hill (e.g. B.R.Maslin 1722), N of Hyden (c. 100 km to the SE), near Quairading and near Muntadgin. It closely resembles A. cracentis.

FOA Reference

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

Author

A.R.Chapman, B.R.Maslin