Common Name

North Brother Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Very restricted in distribution and found only in three localities in coastal ranges near Laurieton, N.S.W.

Description

Tree to 20 m high, sometimes a shrub. Branchlets pendulous, slender, brittle. New shoots often tinged pink or purple-red. Stipules caducous, deltate, less than 0.5 mm long. Phyllodes very narrowly elliptic, commonly straight, 9–18 cm long (occasionally interspersed with few c. 5 cm long), (4–) 5–10 (–12) mm wide, hooked, flexible, mostly glaucous, with several nerves, one often prominent, anastomoses of smaller nerves numerous; margins yellow; gland minute, 0–3 mm above pulvinus; pulvinus present. Inflorescences with peduncles 3–5 (–8) mm long and glabrous; receptacles glabrous; spikes paired or solitary, 3–6.5 cm long, pale yellow or cream-coloured; bracteoles stipitate, spathulate, concave, 0.7 mm long. Flowers loosely packed, 4-merous; sepals united. Pods linear, to 11 cm long, 3–5 mm wide, straight to slightly curved, raised over and shallowly constricted between seeds, coriaceous, ±glabrous, strongly longitudinally ridged when dry. Seeds oblong-elliptic, 5.5–7.8 mm long, shiny, brown; funicle filiform, folded 4–8 times; aril small, more or less oblique.

Phenology

Flowers Nov.–Jan. and fruits during Nov.

Habitat

Occurs principally on rocky hillsides in dry forests and woodlands.

Specimens

N.S.W.: Laurieton, K.J.Phillis s.n. (CANB, MEL, NSW); Compartment 138, Middle Brother State Forest, 25 Jan. 1981, K.J.Phillis s.n. (CANB, MEL, NSW).

Notes

A member of the ‘A. longifolia group’ and distinguished from all other species in the group by its very brittle stems andconspicuous pendulous foliage. Furthermore, distinguished from A. longifolia by its longer peduncles and very pale flowers.

FOA Reference

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

Author

A.B.Court

Edited by B.R.Maslin