Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Discontinuous, occurring between Dumbleyung, Lake King and Narembeen, but also near Sinclair Soak (c. 280 km due NE of Lake King), south-western W.A.

Description

Rigid dense intricate domed shrub, 0.2–0.5 m high and 1–2.5 m across. Branchlets ±glabrous, dividing near extremities into a few short straight radiating aphyllous spines. Phyllodes linear, flat, 3–8 mm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, narrowed at base, straight to shallowly incurved but often slightly recurved at the obtuse excentrically rostellate apices, green, ±glabrous; midrib not prominent; gland inconspicuous, near or above middle of phyllode, often absent. Inflorescences simple, 1 or 2 per axil; peduncles 6–11 mm long, slender, glabrous; basal bract brown; heads globular, 3–3.5 mm diam., 18–27-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous, rarely a few 4-merous; sepals free. Pods ±moniliform, strongly arcuate to rather loosely coiled, to 3.5 cm long, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic, narrowed at hilar end, obliquely truncate adjacent to aril, 2 mm long; aril clavate, white.

Habitat

Grows in sand, sandy clay, clay and granitic loam, in Eucalyptus woodland or mallee shrubland.

Specimens

W.A.: 15.7 km E of Dumbleyung towards Lake Grace, R.Cumming 2609 (PERTH); 45 km W of Lake King on road to Perth, F.Lullfitz 5578 (PERTH); 51 km due ESE of Narembeen, intersection of Anderson Rocks Rd and The Humps Rd, B.R.Maslin 6149 (PERTH).

Notes

Similar to A. pulviniformis which has spinescent branchlets but not radiating spines, semi-terete to compressed phyllodes, fewer flowers per head, united sepals and tightly coiled pods.

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

Minor edits by J.Rogers