Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Locally abundant but known from a few populations near Kalannie in the north-central wheatbelt region of south-western W.A.

Description

Spreading, multistemmed shrub 0.7–1.7 m high, crown dense. Branchlets minutely hairy near base of phyllodes. Phyllodes erect, shallowly incurved, terete, 2.5–5 cm long, 0.7–1 mm wide, short-acuminate with dark brown, innocuous or somewhat pungent point, subrigid, glabrous (except hairy on upper surface of pulvinus and extreme base of lamina); multistriate with numerous, very fine, close nerves. Inflorescences simple; peduncles 2–3 mm long, puberulous (hairs obscured by resin); heads globular to slightly obloid, 16–18-flowered. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free to variably united. Pods moniliform to submoniliform, readily breaking into 1- or few-seeded articles at constrictions, 3.5–6 cm long, 1.8–2.2 mm wide, chartaceous to very thinly crustaceous, yellow-brownish, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 2.5–3 mm long, dark brown to blackish; aril terminal and creamy white.

Habitat

Grows on hard brown granitic clay-loam beneath mallee eucalypts (Eucalyptus subangusta and E. celastroides) and Melaleuca uncinata.

Specimens

W.A.: NE of Kalannie [precise localities withheld for conservation reasons], Sept. 1997, E.Hudson s.n.(PERTH) and B.R.Maslin 7519 (PERTH).

Notes

The taxonomic status of this poorly known and apparently rare taxon requires further study; it appears to have some affinities with A. rigens.

FOA Reference

Flora of Australia Project

Author

B.R.Maslin