Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

From Bathurst Is. and the Maningrida area, south to Umbrawarra Gorge (13°58'S) near Pine Creek, N.T.

Description

Shrub to 2 m high. Bark fibrous, brown. Branchlets markedly angled to almost flattened towards apices, glabrous, with resinous minutely crenulated ridges. Phyllodes oblanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate or very narrowly elliptic, flat, straight or very slightly curved, (3.5–) 4–10.5 cm long, (6.5–) 7.5–20 (–44) mm wide, with blunt red-brown mucro at obtuse apex, thinly coriaceous, glabrous, with 1 of 3 prominent longitudinal nerves confluent with lower margin 0.5–1.7 cm from pulvinus, sometimes with 4 subprominent longitudinal nerves; other nerves faint, moderately anastomosing; gland basal, ±elliptic swelling on upper margin. Peduncles 4–12 (–15) mm long. Spikes 1–3 in upper axils of phyllodes, 10–50 mm long, usually bright to golden yellow. Flowers 5-merous; calyx 0.75–1 mm long, dissected by 2/3 or more, membranous; corolla 1–1.5 mm long, dissected 1/3–1/2; petals with faint midrib. Pods very narrowly oblanceolate, tapering gradually at base, slightly raised over seeds, straight or very slightly curved, valves recurved following dehiscence, 2.6–5 cm long, with ±hooked apex, woody, brown, with conspicuous diagonal nerves and some anastomosing, glabrous; margins thickened. Seeds oblique, 2.7–5.3 mm long, glossy, brown; areole open; funicle-aril conical.

Phenology

Flowers late Dec.–July.

Habitat

Grows in sandy soil, near streams in sandstone plateau-gorge country and on coastal flats.

Specimens

N.T.: Umbrawarra Gorge Rd, J.Brock 94 (DNA); Maningrida area, Clark 1306 (BRI, DNA); Waterfall Ck, M.Hancock 364 (CANB, DNA, K, NSW, PERTH); Bathurst Is., Stevenson 159 (DNA).

Notes

A member of the ‘A. stigmatophylla group’ most nearly related to A. stigmatophylla which differs in having phyllodes with all three prominent longitudinal nerves reaching the base, calyces 0.5–0.75 mm long, cupular and dissected by 1/8–1/5, and petals with a prominent midrib.

FOA Reference

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

Author

P.G.Kodela, M.D.Tindale

Minor edits by B.R.Maslin & J.Rogers