Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs in tropical W.A., north-eastern N.T. and far north-western Qld N of 23ºS.

Description

Vernicose shrub to 4 m high. Bark longitudinally fissured, flaky, dark brown. Upper branchlets slightly angular, otherwise terete, coarse, glabrous. Phyllodes narrowly to very narrowly elliptic, sometimes oblanceolate, oblique towards base, (8.5–) 9–17 (–18.5) cm long, 20–40 (–50) mm wide, glabrous when mature, with 3 or 4 prominent and 4 or 5 subprominent nerves (sometimes confluent with dorsal margin at base); minor nerves 4–7 per mm, not anastomosing; gland 1, basal. Spikes 2–5 cm long. Flowers 5-merous; calyx persistent, 0.9–1.3 mm long, dissected to 1/4, glabrous; corolla 2.1–2.7 mm long, with free glabrous petals; ovary densely yellow-villous. Pods linear, slightly constricted between seeds, 3–7 cm long, 6–8 mm wide, thinly coriaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, ±elliptic, 4–5 mm long, dark brown; areole open.

Phenology

Flowers May–Sept.

Habitat

Grows in sandy soils or ironstone gravel, often in eucalypt woodland.

Specimens

W.A.: 37 miles [59 km] from Bedford Downs Stn, C.H.Gittins 1426 (NSW, PERTH). N.T.: 133.5 km N of Flynn Memorial and Stuart Hwy, W.Bateman 80/2 (BRI, FRI, NSW). Qld: 32 km E of Hughenden, N.H.Speck 4522 (CANB, NSW); 36.8 km from Port Hedland, C.H.Gittins 1466 (NSW); 30.9 miles [49.7 km] S of Prairie on Muttaburra road, P.D.Hind 1065 & C.K.Ingram (BRI, CANB, K, NSW).

Notes

Allied to A. gonoclada which has smaller, non-vernicose phyllodes 9–12 cm long.

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.Rogers

Dr M.D.Tindale and Dr P.G.Kodela with the assistance of M.Bedward, S.J.Davies, C.Herscovitch, D.A.Keith and/or D.A.Morrison