Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs near Yandanooka and Watheroo, south-western W.A.

Description

Spreading shrub to 0.4–1 m high. Ultimate branchlets divaricate to ascending, straight, rather short, hirsutellous to puberulous, coarsely spinose. Phyllodes dimidiate, broadest near or below middle, with adaxial margin conspicuously rounded with its proximal edge ±parallel to branchlet, 6–15 mm long, 4–9 mm wide, acuminate, pungent by a prominent cusp, green, glabrous or sparsely hirsutellous; midrib near abaxial margin; secondary nerves branching and running into adaxial margin. Inflorescences 1-headed rudimentary racemes with axes < 0.5 mm long; peduncles 3–6 mm long, glabrous or hirsutellous, recurved in fruit; basal bracts and bracteoles as for A. scalena; heads globular, 15–17-flowered. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 3/4–4/5-united; petals 1-nerved. Pods tightly and somewhat irregularly coiled so they cannot be straightened out, 6–12 mm long and 4–7 mm wide in contorted state, thinly coriaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, ovate, c. 3 mm long; aril lateral.

Habitat

Grows in rocky or lateritic loam on low hills in open eucalypt woodland.

Specimens

W.A.: c. 4 km S of Arrino on Geraldton Hwy, B.R.Maslin 732 (AD, BRI, CANB, K, PERTH); 5.5 km N of Watheroo towards Three Springs, B.R.Maslin 3290 (PERTH).

Notes

A member of the ‘A. pravifolia group’, apparently most closely allied to A. scalena. Acacia dilatata which occurs within the range of A. flabellifolia has similar phyllodes but is not closely related.

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