Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs from Kalbarri S to North Dandalup, S of Perth, south-western W.A.

Description

Shrub 0.3–1 m high, sometimes semi-prostrate or to 2 m high. Branchlets loosely villous to appressed-pilose with hairs curved to subcrisped, glabrescent. Stipules caducous, connate, c. 2 mm long. Phyllodes linear to narrowly oblong, channelled above or ±infolded (when dry), planoconvex to horizontally flattened, 5–25 mm long, 0.5–1.5 (–2.5) mm wide, fleshy, sulcate when dry, green; upper phyllodes loosely villous, subglabrescent; nerves obscure or absent; gland (obscure) on upper surface near apex of phyllode. Inflorescences simple, 1 or 2 per axil; peduncles (3–) 4–10 mm long, glabrous; heads globular, 3.5–4 mm diam., 18–33-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free. Pods linear, scarcely constricted between seeds, ±arcuate to once-coiled, to 2.5 cm long, ±1.5 mm wide, thinly coriaceous-crustaceous, longitudinally reticulate, glabrous or pubescent. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, 2–2.5 mm long, arillate.

Habitat

Grows on coastal cliffs and sand plains in northern areas; elsewhere it occurs on sandstone and lateritic hills, in heath and, on the Darling scarp, in wandoo and marri woodland where it may occur around granite outcrops.

Specimens

W.A.: Red Hill, Perth–Toodyay road, A.S.George 3714 (PERTH); North Dandalup, N.Kuhnberg 3 (PERTH); 1.6 km NE of Nabawa, B.R.Maslin 720 (MEL, NSW, PERTH); Red Bluff, 5 km S of Kalbarri, P.G.Wilson 6547 (MEL, PERTH).

Notes

Perhaps should be united with A. leptospermoides with which it shares the unusual characters of diaphyllodinous foliage (see A. diaphyllodinea for description and references) and connate stipules, as well as similar inflorescences and pods. They are distinguished by vegetative characters. The specimen, Drummond 2: 141, cited under A. ericifolia by G.Bentham, Fl. Austral. 2: 341 (1864), is A. leptospermoides subsp. leptospermoides. Also similar to A. vassalii.

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.Rogers

B.R.Maslin