Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs along the coast from Cape York Peninsula to the vicinity of Townsville, between 13ºS and 19ºS, Qld.

Description

Shrub to 2.5 m high, multistemmed, glabrous. Bark flaky, brown to grey. Branchlets flattened, stout, brownish. Phyllodes inequilaterally very narrowly elliptic to narrowly elliptic, flat, straight to falcate, (4–) 7–9 (–13) cm long, (3–) 5–12 (–25) mm wide, obtuse or acute, coriaceous, with 3 conspicuous main nerves; minor nerves 5–9 per mm, longitudinal, not anastomosing; gland 1, basal, to 1 mm above pulvinus. Spikes 1.4–3.6 cm long, white to cream. Flowers 5‑merous; calyx 0.5–0.7 mm long, dissected by 1/5–1/7, pubescent; corolla 1.2–1.8 mm long, dissected to 1/2, glabrous; ovary glabrous or with a few hairs at summit. Pods linear, tapered towards base, straight-sided, terete to slightly quadrangular, 5–11 cm long, 3–5 mm wide, woody, striated, glabrous, opening elastically from apex; seed-partitions thick. Seeds very slightly oblique, oblong-elliptic, 3.5–5.6 mm long, dark brown; pleurogram with pale halo; areole open; funicle-aril narrowly conical, very finely attenuated.

Phenology

Flowers in all months.

Habitat

Grows usually in shallow rocky soils derived from sandstone or granite in eucalypt open forest or woodlands, often on steep hillsides, also in heath or scrub or in sand near coast.

Specimens

Qld: 3.7 km E of Normanby R. crossing on Battle Camp road, D.F.Blaxell 89/152 et al. (NSW); 69.4 km by road NNW of Coen P.O., R.G.Coveny 7062 & P.D.Hind (BRI, CANB, K, MEL, NSW, QRS, US); Annan R. bridge, 8 km SW of Cooktown, R.G.Coveny 7191 & P.D.Hind (A, AD, BRI, CANB, K, NSW, PERTH, US); Herberton, L.Pedley 2306 (BRI, NSW).

Notes

Very variable in phyllode shape and size. Its characteristic very pale inflorescences and flattened branchlets are shared with its close relative, A. solenota.

FOA Reference

Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia

Author

Dr M.D.Tindale and Dr P.G.Kodela with the assistance of M.Bedward, S.J.Davies, C.Herscovitch, D.A.Keith and/or D.A.Morrison

Minor edits by B.R.Maslin