Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Confined to the Blue Mtns from Woodford to Mount Victoria, N.S.W.

Description

Slender erect shrub 0.6–2 m high. Branchlets angular, ±strongly ribbed, normally appressed to subappressed puberulous, sometimes with scattered dark resin-hairs. Phyllodes ascending, linear, straight to slightly incurved, ±terete to compressed, 4–11 cm long, 0.6–1 mm wide, acute, excentrically mucronulate, often ±pungent, puberulous, glabrescent, with 8 strongly raised distant main nerves, 3-nerved per face when compressed. Inflorescences simple; peduncles (3–) 5–11 mm long, puberulous with white and dark reddish hairs; heads globular, ±5 mm diam., 25–35-flowered, pale yellow or cream. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 1/3–2/3-united. Pods linear, raised over and slightly constricted between seeds, straight, to 5 cm long, 3.5–5 (–6) mm wide, chartaceous. Seeds longitudinal, broadly ovate or oblong, 4 mm long, arillate.

Phenology

Flowers Jan.–Apr.

Habitat

Grows in wet areas along streams and swampy areas.

Specimens

N.S.W.: above Bridal Veil Falls, Blackheath, 4 Feb. 1960, E.F.Constable s.n. (NSW); Blackheath, Apr. 1899, J.H.Maiden s.n. (K, NSW, PERTH); Hazelbrook Recreation Reserve, 28 Jan. 1961, M.Tindale s.n. (NSW).

Notes

Perhaps most closely related to A. elongata which has broader phyllodes, heads in axillary racemes and white-hairy peduncles; possibly also not far removed from the ‘A. wilhelmiana group’.

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

R.S.Cowan, B.R.Maslin