Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs from Brookton and Narrogin E to Frank Hann Natl Park and SE to near Boxwood Hill, south-western W.A.

Description

Much-branched subshrub 0.3–0.6 m high. Branches often pink-brown. Branchlets spinose to subspinose, strigulose to puberulous. Axillary spines numerous, 1 or 2 per node, 4–10 mm long. Leaves small; petiole > 0.5 mm long; pinnae 1 pair, 1–2 mm long; pinnules 2–4 pairs, obovate to oblong-obovate, 1–2.5 mm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, glaucous to subglaucous, ±glabrous; gland within axil of pinnae, stipitate, to 0.5 mm long. Inflorescences rudimentary 1-headed racemes with axes c. 0.5 mm long; peduncles 1–2 mm long, strigulose to puberulous or occasionally glabrous; heads globular, 10–20-flowered, light golden; bracteoles acute to short-acuminate, dark brown; buds subacute. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 1/2–2/3-united, 5-nerved; petals obviously 1-nerved. Pods undulate to circinnate, to 15 mm long, 4–5 mm wide, thinly crustaceous, glabrous. Seeds transverse to oblique, broadly elliptic, c. 2 mm long, brown mottled black.

Habitat

Grows in sometimes gravelly loam, sandy loam and sand, in tall eucalypt shrubland and open shrubland.

Specimens

W.A.: 51.5 km S of Jerramungup, L.Bousfield 4 (PERTH); 1.6 km S of Narrogin towards Wagin, B.R.Maslin 660 (B, CANB, MEL, NSW, NY, PERTH); 39 km W of Ravensthorpe towards Jerramungup, B.R.Maslin 3469 (PERTH); 5 km NW of Ongerup, K.Newbey 3736 (CANB, MEL, NSW, NY, PERTH); 28 km S of Tadpole Lake, c. 63 km ENE of Lake King, K.Newbey 5532 (MEL, PERTH).

Notes

Most readily distinguished from A. pulchella by its shorter pods, mottled seeds and usually shorter peduncles with fewer-flowered heads (but see A. pulchella var. pulchella Variant 1). Vegetatively similar to A. pulchella var. glaberrima (variant 4) but readily distinguished by hairy branchlets; possible hybrids occur between these taxa near Lake Grace (e.g. K.Newbey 9485-1, MELU, PERTH).

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