Common Name

Catkin Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Restricted to subalpine and montane forests of southern N.S.W. and north-eastern Vic. where known only from the vicinity of Khancoban in N.S.W., and the Buffalo Ra., the slopes of Mt Bogong and Sassafras Gap, in Vic.

Description

Shrub or tree to 15 m high. Branchlets glabrous, often lightly to moderately pruinose. New shoots golden appressed puberulous. Stipules caducous or absent. Phyllodes narrowly lanceolate or narrowly elliptic, commonly falcate or dimidiate, (7–) 8–18 cm long, 1–3.5 cm wide, tapering, blunt, grey or blue-green, with 2–4 primary nerves; secondary nerves somewhat obscure, forming numerous anastomoses; margins yellow; gland small, (1–) 3–6 mm above the pulvinus; pulvinus 2–5 mm long. Inflorescences simple, normally 2 per axil; spikes to 6 cm long, sessile or almost so, often curved, ±densely flowered, mid to deep yellow; receptacle glabrous; bracteoles peltate with shield-like lamina, 1–1.5 mm long, 1–1.3 mm wide. Flowers 4-merous; sepals united. Pods moniliform or submoniliform, mostly straight, c. 6–15 cm long and 2–5 mm wide, thinly coriaceous-crustaceous to chartaceous, ±pruinose, waxy. Seeds elliptic, 4 mm long, dull; funicle folded several times; aril cupular.

Phenology

Flowers Sept.–Dec. and occasionally as late as Mar. Fruits Oct.–Jan.

Specimens

N.S.W.: 19 km ESE of Khancoban, R.Coveny 5401 (BRI, MEL, NSW). Vic.: near Bogong Village, Sept. 1977, G.Fraser-Harvey s.n. (NSW); 1.6 km N of Sassafras Gap, 16 Nov. 1964, J.H.Willis s.n. (CANB, MEL).

Notes

A distinctive member of the ‘A. longifolia group’ on account of its normally pruinose branchlets, golden hairy new shoots, more or less sessile spikes with flowers rather densely packed and thin-textured pods. It is sometimes sympatric with A. phlebophylla and, judging from field observations and morphological criteria, the two species may occasionally hybridize where they co-occur, e.g. Mt Buffalo, N.G.Walsh 5162 (MEL, PERTH).

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