Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Discontinuous, occurring in the Latham–Wubin area, and from Kununoppin E to Westonia and S to Bruce Rock, south-western W.A.

Description

Spindly, open, sparingly branched, aromatic shrub 2–3 m high, glabrous, viscid. Branchlets roughened by obvious stem-projections where phyllodes have fallen. Stipules caducous, linear, 2–5 mm long. Phyllodes ascending to erect, linear, mostly shallowly incurved, (8–) 9–17 cm long, usually 2–3.5 mm wide, narrowed at base, green to yellowish green, sparsely tuberculate; midrib not prominent; lateral nerves obscure or not evident; gland 1–3 mm above pulvinus, with another at base of the thick mucro. Peduncles arranged in terminal false racemes which grow out at anthesis, 1.5–4 cm long, sometimes subtended by immature phyllodes at anthesis, ebracteate at base; heads globular, densely 40–55-flowered, golden. Flowers 5‑merous; sepals 1/2-united. Pods linear, to 10 cm long, 3.5–4.5 mm wide, crustaceous-coriaceous, roughened by an excrescent reticulum. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 4–4.5 mm long, arillate.

Habitat

Grows in laterite or gravelly sand or loam, commonly in open scrub.

Specimens

W.A.: N of Kununoppin, Sept. 1922, C.A.Gardner s.n. (PERTH); 8.8 km S of Wubin towards Dalwallinu, B.R.Maslin 3527 (CANB, K, MEL, NY, PERTH); 5.5 km N of Burracoppin, B.R.Maslin 4478 (K, MEL, PERTH).

Notes

Most closely related to A. shapelleae and apparently also with affinities to A. rossei which has shorter phyllodes and pods. A. handonis (Qld) has similar prominent excrescences on the pod valves.

Specimens from near Burracoppin differ in their very narrow phyllodes c. 1 mm wide.

The month of collection of the type is erroneously given as September in the protologue.

FOA Reference

Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia

Author

B.R.Maslin

Minor edits by B.R.Maslin & J.Rogers