Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Found mostly in an area bounded by Twin Peaks, Cue, Perenjori and Youanmi in south-western W.A., but with two outliers in the Kalgoorlie–Kambalda area, c. 300 km SE of Youanmi.

Description

Shrub or tree 1–3 m high; trunks and branches somewhat gnarled. Bark fibrous, grey. Branchlets terete, appressed-puberulous at extremities, soon glabrous. Phyllodes ascending to erect, straight to slightly incurved, terete, 5–9.5 (–13.5) cm long, ±1.3 mm diam., subulate-pungent, rigid, grey-green to glaucous (green when young), glabrous or sericeous between the nerves, finely multistriate; gland normally 1.5–5 mm above base. Inflorescences simple, 2 per axil; peduncles 0.5–3 (–5) mm long, appressed-puberulous to glabrous; heads globular, 4–5 mm diam., 30–45-flowered, golden. Flowers 4- or 5-merous; sepals 1/4–2/3-united. Pods linear, raised over seeds, to 10 cm long, 3–4.5 mm wide, chartaceous, coarsely reticulate over seeds, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic-oblong, 4.5–5 mm long, glossy, brown; aril apical, bright yellow.

Habitat

Grows at margins of saline lakes, marshes and flats, in clay or loam, in open scrub.

Specimens

W.A.: between Yuinmery and Cashmere Downs, J.S.Beard 6487 (NSW, PERTH); 45 km E of Perenjori, J.S.Beard 7364 (PERTH); western shore of Lake Lefroy, Kambalda, R.Coveny 8431 & B.Habersley (NSW, PERTH); about 3 km N of Mt Magnet towards Cue, B.R.Maslin 3579 (CANB, K, PERTH).

Notes

Acacia kalgoorliensis has similar phyllodes except that they have evident stomata in the internerve spaces; it also has fewer-flowered heads and free sepals. May superficially resemble A. donaldsonii or A. rigens.

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 B.R.Maslin & J.Reid