Common Name

Cowan’s Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Restricted to a few granite outcrops near Kellerberrin and Kulin, south-western W.A.

Description

Resinous shrub or tree normally to 5 m high. Branchlets glabrous or sparsely antrorsely puberulous with white or golden hairs; yellow (? resin) lines or irregular tubercles flanking the obscure ribs. Phyllodes patent to inclined, narrowly linear, mostly incurved, (2–) 3–5 cm long, 1–2.5 mm wide, l:w = 10–46, uncinate to subuncinate, rostellate, green, sometimes golden or white appressed-puberulous on some nerves, obscurely 3–7-nerved; gland basal. Inflorescences normally 2-headed racemes; raceme axes 2–3 mm long; peduncles 5–7 mm long, sparsely to moderately appressed-puberulous with white or golden hairs; heads globular, 20-flowered, cream to pale lemon-yellow. Flowers 5-merous; calyx membranous; sepals c. 1/2-united. Pods linear, to 8 cm long, 4.5–6 mm wide, firmly chartaceous, villous or puberulous, ±glabrescent. Seeds (few seen) longitudinal to longitudinally oblique, oblong-elliptic to oblong-ovate, c. 3.5 mm long, sometimes to 5 mm long; aril clavate.

Specimens

W.A.: Jilakin Rock, 14 km E of Kulin, 2 May 1986, K.J.Atkins s.n. (PERTH); 8 km N of Kellerberrin on ‘Shark Mouth’ Rd, B.R.Maslin 589a (MEL, NSW, PERTH).

Notes

A member of the ‘A. wilhelmiana group’, distinguished from A. wilhelmiana by its pale-coloured flower-heads, sparse peduncle indumentum, broad, ±straight pods and usually longer phyllodes.

FOA Reference

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

Author

Minor edits by B.R.Maslin

B.R.Maslin