Common Name

Woolly-bear Wattle, Lucas’s Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Known from only two areas of the Great Divide, namely, the upper Tuross R. area, N.S.W., and the Nunniong Plateau, Vic.

Description

Shrub to 4 m high. Branchlets tomentulose, with hairs ferruginous on young new shoots but ageing silvery white. Stipules 2–4 mm long. Phyllodes crowded, ascending to erect, often slightly asymmetric, elliptic to narrowly elliptic or lanceolate, sometimes oblong-elliptic, 1.5–3 (-6) cm long, 6–15 mm wide, ±undulate, acute to obtuse-mucronate, grey-green, tomentulose; midrib and marginal nerves prominent; lateral nerves obscure; gland obscure, 0–8 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences simple or in axillary or terminal racemes 2–5 cm long; peduncles 1–5 mm long, stout, tomentulose; heads obloid, densely 20–40-flowered, bright light golden; bracteoles exserted in buds. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united. Pods oblong to narrowly oblong, to c. 4 cm long, 8–14 mm wide, thinly coriaceous-crustaceous, densely tomentulose with ferruginous hairs. Seeds transverse to oblique, ±oblong, 4–6 mm long, somewhat shiny, black, arillate.

Habitat

Grows in rocky areas on granite or quartzite, sometimes in heath, but often as understorey in eucalypt woodland or forest.

Specimens

N.S.W.: Wadbilliga fire trail between Tuross R. and Bumberry Ck, 37 km ESE of Cooma, R.Coveny 6595 et al. (NSW, PERTH). Vic.: Brumby Point, Nunniong Plateau (between Reedy and Little Reedy Rivers), 11 Oct. 1964, K.C.Rogers s.n. (MEL, NSW).

Notes

Very distinctive on account of its ferruginous-tomentulose new growth and pods. Most closely allied to A. costiniana. These two species share with A. dorothea the unusual combination of characters of 1-nerved phyllodes and obloid flower-heads.

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

B.R.Maslin