Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Extends from Taroom, south-eastern Qld, S and W in N.S.W. to Pilliga East State Forest, E to Tenterfield.

Description

Spindly shrub or tree to 6 m high, with reddish branches. Bark smooth, greyish green or reddish green. Branchlets inconspicuously ridged or ±smooth, glabrous. Leaves coriaceous, greyish green; petiole above pulvinus usually 0.8–4 cm long, terete, glabrous, with a prominent linear or oblong gland 1/3–2/3 below basal pinnae, also sometimes an apical gland if there is only 1 pair of pinnae; rachis to 8 cm long, glabrous, eglandular or with a round, oblong or triangular jugary gland at base of uppermost and sometimes other pairs of pinnae; interjugary glands absent; pinnae 1–4 pairs, 3–9.5 cm long; pinnules 5–17 (–23) pairs, mostly narrowly oblong, sometimes ±oblanceolate, 6–20 mm long, 2–6 mm wide, glabrous, 3-nerved, with apex broadly rounded or emarginate. Inflorescences in racemes or mostly false-panicles; peduncles 3–10 mm long. Heads globular, 3.5–7 mm diam., 15–33-flowered, golden or yellow; calyx-lobes triangular to rounded-triangular. Pods ±straight-sided or irregularly and mostly only slightly constricted between seeds, 5.5–13.5 cm long, 9–13.5 mm wide, subcoriaceous, blue-black, brownish towards margins, glabrous, slightly pruinose.

Phenology

Flowers July–Sept.; fruits Nov.–Mar.

Habitat

Grows in sandy soils, in open forest or shrub-woodland, often along watercourses.

Specimens

Qld: 13.8 km N of Tara, R.G.Coveny 6797 & P.Hind (A, BM, NE, NSW, P, RSA, TL, Z); 12 km NE of Chinchilla, 12 Aug. 1983, V.Hando. s.n. (NSW). N.S.W.: 1 km S of Tenterfield, G.J.Harden 81022 (AD, CHR, K, NSW, US); Pilliga East State Forest, D.F.Mackay FR79995 (NSW); Tenterfield, M.D.Tindale 728 (NSW).

Notes

Closely related to A. pruinosa which has usually larger flower heads with more flowers per head and spathulate calyx lobes. Similar to A. latisepala which has a lower number of larger pinnules.

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 & J.Reid

M.D.Tindale, P.G.Kodela