Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs from Southern Cross and Newdegate E to Kanandah Stn and near Balladonia, W.A.

Description

Spreading glabrous shrub normally 0.2–1 m high. Branchlets often slightly viscid or vernicose. Stipules caducous. Phyllodes crowded, on slight stem-projections, ascending to erect, ±asymmetrically oblong-oblanceolate to narrowly oblong, with ±straight lower margin and with upper margin rounded at least near mucro, 7–17 mm long, 2–5 mm wide, obliquely mucronate to excentrically rostellate, with ±pungent mucro, green to glaucous, 1-nerved per face; lateral nerves few and obscure; gland at or above middle of phyllode. Inflorescences 2–5-headed racemes, enclosed when young by scarious brown bracts, frequently crowded in upper axils; raceme axes 0.5–4 mm long; peduncles 4–15 mm long, slender; heads showy, globular, 15–21-flowered, golden; bracteoles absent. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free. Pods once- or twice-coiled, sometimes irregularly so, 4–5 mm wide, firmly chartaceous to thinly coriaceous-crustaceous, sometimes pruinose. Seeds longitudinal, ovate to elliptic, c. 3 mm long, slightly shiny, black, exarillate.

Habitat

Grows in sand or loamy clay, in Eucalyptus woodland and mallee communities.

Specimens

W.A.: Gilmores, L.Diels 5281 (PERTH); 41 km N of Trans-line on W boundary fence of Kanandah Stn, Nullabor, G.J.Keighery 573 & J.J.Alford (PERTH); 24.5 km S of Mt Holland, B.R.Maslin 3947 (CANB, K, PERTH); 30 km W of Ponier Rock, c. 80 km SW of Balladonia Motel, Eyre Hwy, K.Newbey 7316 (PERTH).

Notes

A member of the ‘A. prainii group’ where it is most closely allied to A. prainii and A. dorsenna.

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