Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs from near Coorow SE to near Corrigin and Moorine Rock (c. 30 km due WSW of Southern Cross) with a NW outlier at Mullewa and SE outliers in the Ongerup, Ravensthorpe and Frank Hann Natl Park areas (c. 200 km SE of Corrigin–Moorine Rock), south-western W.A.

Description

Dense, domed or obconic shrub mostly 0.5–1.7 m high. Branchlets tomentulose to appressed-tomentulose. Stipules persistent, triangular, less than 1 mm long, thick, black. Phyllodes ascending to erect, ±recurved or straight, terete, (0.7–) 1–2.5 (–3) cm long, 1–1.5 (–2) mm wide, abruptly ±mucronate and sharply pungent, rigid, glabrous except pulvinus ±tomentulose, with 20 closely parallel nerves; stomata raised between nerves; gland single, 3–14 mm above pulvinus; pulvinus abruptly separated from blade, flared basally. Inflorescences simple, 2 per axil; peduncles 2–5 (–7) mm long, glabrous; heads globular, 3–4 mm diam., 7–12-flowered, golden. Flowers 5‑merous; sepals free. Pods oblong-linear, straight or slightly curved, subterete, 1.5–3.5 cm long, 2–3 (–4) mm wide, thick-crustaceous, venose longitudinally, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, narrowly oblong, 3–4 mm long, dull, dark brown to black; aril apical.

Habitat

Grows in gravelly soil, loam, loamy clay and sand, in woodland, mallee and scrub.

Specimens

W.A.: 1 km E of 90 Mile Tank, Lake King–Kumarl road, B.R.Maslin 5789 (MEXU, PERTH); 10 km N of Coorow, B.R.Maslin 6577 (PERTH); Mullewa, 3 July 1952, N.H.Speck (PERTH); 20 km NE of Ongerup, N.Stevens KRN9520-1 (MELU, PERTH); 5.9 km SE of Bruce Rock towards Narembeen, M.D.Tindale 3736 (CANB, K, MEL, NSW, PERTH, US).

Notes

A member of the ‘A. densiflora group’, related to A. graciliformis and A. dissona; the latter species has straight phyllodes, 15–20-flowered heads and linear, thin-crustaceous or coriaceous pods. Also related to A. densiflora, which differs in its partly united sepals, tomentulose peduncles and straight, generally longer, terete to flat phyllodes.

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