Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs in Kalbarri Natl Park and N to Meadow Stn, c. 120 km N of the Murchison R. and North West Coastal Hwy crossing, south-western W.A.

Description

Spreading much-branched shrub 0.4–1 m high. Branchlets with minute, straight or antrorsely curved hairs, glabrescent. Stipules scarious, triangular, c. 1 mm long. Phyllodes ±patent, quadrangular in section, 7–20 mm long, c. 1 mm wide, pungent, rigid, green, glabrous or subglabrous, 4-nerved, sulcate between the nerves; pulvinus dilated at base. Inflorescences simple, mostly 1 per axil; peduncles 5–12 mm long, glabrous; heads globular, 15–20-flowered, ?light golden (filaments orange-brown when dry). Flowers 5-merous; sepals free; petals 1-nerved, sparingly and obscurely penninerved. Pods linear, subterete, to 5 cm long, 4–6 mm wide, ±woody, glabrous; margins broad, yellow. Seeds longitudinal, ovate to oblong, c. 3 mm long, turgid, mottled; aril oblique.

Habitat

Grows in deep sand, sometimes over limestone, in heath or shrubland.

Specimens

W.A.: Kalbarri Natl Park, c. 1 km SE of Junga Dam, S.D.Hopper 1296 (PERTH); c. 45 km S of Overlander Roadhouse, North West Coastal Hwy, B.R.Maslin 3151 (BM, PERTH).

Notes

Readily distinguished from the quadrangular phyllode variant of A. auronitens which has usually densely pubescent to hirsute branchlets, 2–4 mm long and frequently spinose stipules, and ascending to erect phyllodes. May superficially resemble A. sphacelata subsp. sphacelata and A. tetragonophylla, but distinguished by 4-nerved phyllodes and ±woody pods with broad margins. Also similar to A. cavealis.

FOA Reference

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

Author

B.R.Maslin

Minor edits by J.Rogers