Common Name

Frosty Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Extends from Miles, south-eastern Qld, to the tablelands, slopes and adjacent plains of northern N.S.W., as far W as Emmaville and S to Cuttabri.

Description

Pruinose shrub or tree to 6 m high. Bark smooth, dark red or purplish. Branchlets inconspicuously ridged, reddish or blue-black, glossy, ±pruinose, glabrous. Young foliage-tips greyish green. Leaves subcoriaceous, glaucous; petiole above pulvinus mostly 1.8–6 cm long, usually with a prominent elongated gland at base of or to ½-way below lowest pair of pinnae, glabrous; rachis 1.5–10 cm long, with a gland at base of all or some pairs of pinnae, glabrous; interjugary glands absent; pinnae (1–) 2–4 (–5) pairs, widely spaced, 3–9 cm long; pinnules 7–20 pairs, narrowly oblong, 8–18 mm long, 2.5–5 (–6) mm wide, obtuse, glabrous, the main nerve percurrent with two shorter secondary nerves from base not reaching margin. Inflorescences in axillary racemes or false-panicles or terminal false-panicles; peduncles 3–8 mm long. Heads globular, 5–10 mm diam., 40–60-flowered, golden; calyx-lobes spathulate. Pods ±straight-sided to slightly constricted between seeds, 4–14 cm long, 6–12 mm wide, coriaceous, blue-black, smooth, glabrous, pruinose.

Phenology

Flowers Aug.–Oct. Fruits Nov.–Jan.

Habitat

Grows in open woodland or shrub-woodland, often on rocky hillsides, in sandy soils, mostly on granite or laterite.

Specimens

Qld: 4.8 km NNE of Ballandean, R.G.Coveny 2101 (A, BRI, CHR, K, L, US,); 3.2 km SE of Glen Aplin, C.H.Gittins 2825 (NSW); 16 km WSW of Stanthorpe, L.Pedley 4142 (A, BRI, CANB, MEL, NSW). N.S.W.: 25 km NNW of Emmaville, A.R.Bean 2784 (BRI, NSW); 39.2 km on Barraba–Bundarra road, M.H.Simmons 1450 & J.G.Simmons (NSW).

Notes

This species has been confused with A. debilis in the past, which has smaller flower heads with less flowers and ±triangular calyx lobes. Also similar to A. latisepala which has a lower number of larger pinnules.

FOA Reference

Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia

Author

M.D.Tindale, P.G.Kodela

Minor edits by J.Reid & J.Rogers