Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Most collections have been made between Southern Cross and Bullfinch (c. 35 km NW of Southern Cross), but also found NW as far as Kulja (c. 45 km NNW of Koorda), N to Mt Correll (c. 50 km N of Bullfinch) and Bungalbin Hill (c. 50 km N of Koolyanobbing), south-western W.A.

Description

Spreading shrub 1.5-3 m high. Branchlets apically resin-ribbed, sericeous between the glabrous resinous ribs. Phyllodes erect, straight, terete or quadrangular-terete, (6-) 8-13 cm long, 1-1.2 mm diam., coarsely pungent, rather rigid, minutely sericeous in the shallow longitudinal grooves between nerves, 16-nerved although sometimes only 8 readily visible; nerves closely parallel, slightly raised, subequally prominent, with widest (c. 0.2 mm) on the four slight angles. Inflorescences simple, 1 or 2 per axil; peduncles 0.5-1.5 mm long, densely sericeous; spikes 10-11 mm long, 5 mm diam., densely flowered, golden. Flowers 4‑merous; sepals 1/2-3/4-united, sparsely puberulous. Pods linear, flat, slightly raised over and slightly constricted between seeds, straight, to 6.5 cm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, chartaceous, sparsely appressed-puberulous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 3.5-4 mm long, ±shiny, pale brown; funicle/aril a series of loose loops.

Habitat

Grows in deep yellow sand or gravelly, well-drained sand, on flat to gently undulating plains or on the sides of low hills, in open shrubland.

Specimens

W.A.: 10.5 km N of Southern Cross towards Bullfinch, B.R.Maslin 2384 (CANB, K, MEL, NSW, PERTH); 6.4 [miles?] E of Kulja, 17 Dec. 1971, B.H.Smith (PERTH).

Notes

Erroneously reported by R.S.Cowan & B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 10: 29 (1995), as having 5-merous flowers and as a consequence referred to the ‘A. heteroneura group’, but its closest affinities appear to be with A. filifolia and its allies. Superficially resembling A. desertorum which is distinguished by its globular to obloid, subdensely flowered heads, longer peduncles, narrower, ±quadrangular pods and mottled seeds. There is a superficial resemblance also to A. sibina which is most easily distinguished by its branchlets that are glabrous except within phyllode axils, its perfectly terete, sharply pungent phyllodes with more numerous nerves and its wider pods which are clearly constricted between the bicoloured seeds. Also similar to A. isoneura subsp. nimia.

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 J.Reid

R.S.Cowan, B.R.Maslin