Common Name

Kulparn, Walmajarri (Aboriginal people of the Great Sandy Desert)

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs in the Tanami Desert, N.T., westward through the Great Sandy Desert to the 80 Mile Beach and the vicinity of Broome, W.A.

Description

Multi-stemmed shrub mostly 0.5–2 (–3) m high, rarely prostrate, crown ±sparse. Bark smooth. Branchlets often flexuose. Adult phyllodes 6–12 cm long, 20–35 mm wide, straight and dimidiate or sometimes sub-falcate, glabrous, bright green and not pruinose or grey-green and lightly pruinose. Peduncles 4–6 mm long; spikes 2–4.5 cm long. Pods straight to curved, sometimes openly coiled or twisted, 6–12 mm wide. Seeds 7–9 mm long, 4–5 mm wide.

Phenology

Flowers June–July.

Habitat

Grows on slightly acidic, red sand or sandy loam on dunes and plains in low open shrubland, often associated with hummock grasslands dominated by spinifex (Triodia sp.).

Specimens

N.T.: valley between Pargee and Gardiner Ranges, far W Tanami, D.E.Albrecht 7803 (DNA, MEL). W.A.: James Price Point, c. 50 km N of Broome, B.R.Maslin 7221A (PERTH); Anketell Ridge, Great Sandy Desert, A.S.Mitchell 1177 (AD, NT, PERTH).

Notes

Many of the most inland plants are conspicuously pruinose whereas those from more westerly areas are less pruinose or not pruinose. Fire-tolerant with plants resprouting rapidly from base when burnt.

Published since the Flora of Australia treatment of the family.

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