Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs in the arid zone from near Newman, W.A., to near Lake Amadeus, N.T.

Description

Glabrous resinous viscid shrub 1–2 m high. Bark light grey. Phyllodes ascending to erect, incurved, terete, infrequently subquadrangular, 2–9 cm long but commonly 3–5 cm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, obliquely truncate, excentrically mucronulate, dark green, obscurely 4-nerved; gland 0–2 mm above pulvinus, oblong to elliptic and 0.5–1 mm long, with a smaller circular gland at base of mucro. Inflorescences simple and 1 per axil or 1-headed racemes with axes 2–4 mm long; peduncles 8–12 mm long; basal bract present (on racemes) or absent (on non-racemose inflorescences); heads globular, 25-35-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 1/4–1/2-united, sometimes splitting to base upon dissection. Pods linear, shallowly constricted between seeds, arcuate, biconvex, to 5 cm long, 2.5–3 mm wide, longitudinally reticulate. Seeds longitudinal, 4 mm long; aril conspicuous.

Habitat

Grows on sand plains or lateritic hills with spinifex.

Specimens

W.A.: 12.9 km N of Kumarina, Great Northern Hwy, M.E.Ballingall 1836 (BRI, PERTH); Warburton Region, P.E.Conrick 903 (DNA, PERTH). N.T.: 17 km E Docker R., Petermann Ra., T.S.Henshall 2810 (PERTH); 8 km W of Armstrong Ck, J.R.Maconochie 1839 (AD, NSW, PERTH).

Notes

A member of the ‘A. wilhelmiana group’ and related to A. ascendens. Sometimes confused with A. helmsiana which also occurs in the arid zone.

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