Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs from near Wongan Hills S to Ongerup and E to near Lake King, south-western W.A. The Broad Arrow outlier referred to in Fl. Australia 11A: 532 (2001) is now known to have been collected further west, from Hines Hill.

Description

Intricate, often compact, glabrous shrub to 0.5 (-1) m high. Branchlets spinose, rigid, striate-ribbed. Stipules caducous. Phyllodes subdistant, sessile, patent, inequilaterally triangular-lanceolate to semi-trullate, 4–12 mm long, 0.8–2 mm wide, pungent, rigid, green, 5-nerved, with the 2-nerved somewhat thickened and nerve-like adaxial margin convex but slightly angled at the gland; midrib prominent. Inflorescences rudimentary 1-headed racemes with axes less than 0.5 mm long; peduncles 2–4 (–6) mm long; basal bracts persistent; heads globular, 11–15-flowered, golden; bracteoles caducous, scarious, rather conspicuous in buds. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united to near apex, 1/2–2/3 length of petals. Pods prominently rounded over seeds, to 22 mm long, 2.5–3.5 mm wide, undulate, firmly chartaceous. Seeds irregularly oblong to elliptic, c. 2.5 mm long, turgid, sparingly mottled, peripherally ridged; aril depressed, c. equalling seed length.

Habitat

Grows in a variety of habitats but commonly in sand or clayey sand, often near granite outcrops, in woodland, mallee communities, shrubland or heath.

Specimens

W.A.: N of Wongan Hills, C.A.Gardner 2723 (K, PERTH); Hines Hill, Sept. 1927, C.A.Gardner & W.E.Blackall s.n. (PERTH); 6.4 km N of Ongerup, K.Newbey 976 (PERTH).

Notes

Similar to long phyllode forms of A. intricata which has a very reduced calyx, non-undulate pods and inconspicuous bracteoles.

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