Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Disjunct, occurring in the Holt Rock area (Holt Rock is c. 100 km due ENE of Lake Grace) with one collection from Wongan Hills (c. 300 km to the NW), south-western W.A.

Description

Shrub 0.5-2 m high. Bark ‘Minni-Ritchi’. Branchlets with spreading hairs. Phyllodes patent to ascending, terete to flat and linear to linear-oblanceolate, shallowly to moderately incurved, (2.5-) 3.5-6 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, ±rigid, grey-green, glabrous or sparsely and loosely subappressed-pubescent, with 8 prominent nerves separated by deep furrows, 3-nerved per face when flat. Inflorescences simple, 2 per axil; heads sessile, subglobular to broadly ellipsoid, 5-8 mm long, 4.5-5 mm diam., 20-25-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 1/2-3/4-united. Pods narrowly oblong, strongly undulate, to 3 cm long, 4 mm wide, coriaceous, villous with light golden or white hairs and normally with minute red resin-hairs intermixed. Seeds longitudinal, broadly elliptic to oblong-ovate, 2.5-3 mm long, glossy, dark brown-black and obscurely mottled yellow; funicle/aril fold at base of seed.

Habitat

Usually grows in loam or sandy loam near granite outcrops, in heath, scrub and shrubland.

Specimens

W.A.: 5 km S of Lake Carmody, W.E.Blackall 1387 (PERTH); Wongan Hills, Aug. 1935, E.H.Ising (PERTH); 51 km due SE of Hyden, B.R.Maslin 6371 (CANB, PERTH, Z).

Notes

Related to A. ephedroides which has appressed-pubescent branchlets, longer, filiform phyllodes and longer, less undulate pods.

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, B.R.Maslin

Minor edits by J.Reid