Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Known only from Pingelly, near Billericay and near Ongerup in south-western W.A.

Description

Densely branched shrub 0.3–0.9 m high. Branchlets glabrous or sparsely appressed-puberulous, often resinous. Phyllodes oblique, widely elliptic to elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 3–8 mm long, 2–5 mm wide, sometimes with rostriform apex, glabrous, often resinous, 2–4-nerved per face; nerves sometimes mealy; secondary nerves obscure but sometimes seen to be sparingly anastomosing; gland 0.5–1 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences 1- (or 2-) headed reduced racemes with axes 1–3 mm long; peduncles 2–3 mm long, densely appressed-puberulous with pale yellow or silvery hairs; heads globular, 4–5 mm diam., 20–39-flowered. Flowers 5-merous; sepals nearly free to 1/2-united. Pods (immature) linear, curved, white-hairy. Seeds not seen.

Habitat

Grows in loam.

Specimens

W.A.: S end of Pingelly townsite, 6 July 1976, A.S.George s.n. (PERTH); 26 miles [41.9 km] E of Billericay, K.Newbey, 3234 (PERTH); 16 km SE of Ongerup, K.Newbey 1294 (BRI, MEL, NSW, PERTH).

Notes

A member of the ‘A. flavipila group’, related to A. flavipila, particularly var. ovalis, which has paired heads on a short axis up to 7 mm long in each axil. Also related to A. trulliformis.

A taxon of uncertain status, represented by a fruiting specimen from 16 km SSE of Ongerup (K.Newbey 11826, PERTH), is not included in the above description. It differs most obviously from A. loxophylla in its larger habit and longer phyllodes (11–16 mm long). As mature fruit of A. loxophylla are unknown, the status of this entity remains unclear; it appears not to be A. loxophylla var. nervosa (see Doubtful Names).

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

Minor edits by J.Reid