Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Scattered from near Yalgoo (c. 120 km WSW of Mount Magnet) NE to Carnarvon Ra. (c. 270 km NE of Meekatharra) and E to Leinster, with outliers in the Gibson and Great Victoria Deserts, inland central W.A.

Description

Bushy shrub or tree 2–6 m high. New shoots resinous. Branchlets ±sparsely silvery sericeous at least around phyllode bases. Phyllodes ascending to suberect, usually linear-tetragonous (rhombic in section), 8–22 cm long, usually 1–1.5 mm wide, acuminate with a straight innocuous to coarsely pungent point, ±rigid, glabrous or silvery sericeous between nerves, ±obviously nerved on angles and finely striate on intervening faces. Inflorescences simple, 1 per axil; peduncles 2–10 mm long, ±sparsely sericeous; heads obloid to shortly cylindrical, 9–12 mm long, 6–8 mm diam., densely flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free to 3/4-united, 1/2 or more length of petals. Pods linear, straight, to 12 cm long, 4 mm wide, cartilaginous to subwoody, finely longitudinally ridged when dry, sparsely appressed-puberulous to glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic-oblong, 5–5.5 mm long, glossy, dark brown, arillate.

Habitat

Grows on sand dunes and plains, mostly in tall open shrubland associated with Spinifex (Triodia basedowii).

Specimens

W.A.: S side of range, below Circus Rock Holes, J.M.Bechervaise & J.Kelso 129 (MEL); Gibson Desert, 118 km W of Giles, 15 Nov. 1975, R.Buckley (DNA); Great Victoria Desert, SE end of Rason Lake, B.R.Maslin 5724 (CANB, PERTH); Gabyon Stn, A.A.Mitchell 915 (BRI, PERTH).

Notes

Phyllodes are typically rhombic in section but some specimens have interspersed a few flat phyllodes (to 2 mm wide). A flowering specimen from the Carnarvon Ra. (A.A.Burbidge 11, PERTH) is possibly this species; it is unusual in having consistently ±flat phyllodes, a few of which reach 3 mm wide, and ±free to 1/4-united sepals.

Related to A. resinimarginea and A. ampliata.

FOA Reference

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

Author

R.S.Cowan, B.R.Maslin