Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Known from only a single population NW of Dandaragan, W.A.

Description

Somewhat open shrub 1–4 m high. Branchlets thick, angled at extremities, pruinose, glabrous. Phyllodes on obvious stem-projections, with lower edge often continuous and forming very narrow wings with branchlets, variable, (6–) 8–12 cm long, 1–6 (–8) cm wide, glabrous, 1‑nerved per face, finely penninerved; gland 2–6 cm above pulvinus. Inflorescences racemose; raceme axes (1.5–) 2.5–8 (–15) cm long, golden appressed-puberulous to glabrous; peduncles (3–) 4–6 (–8) mm long, with indumentum as on raceme axes; heads obloid to globular, (33–) 40–60 (–75)-flowered, golden; bracteoles golden-fimbriolate. Flowers 5-merous; calyx gamosepalous. Pods narrowly oblong, ±rounded over seeds, to 11 (–14) cm long but often shorter, (7–) 8–10 (–12) mm wide, firmly chartaceous, variably pruinose, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal to oblique, oblong to elliptic, 5–6 mm long, ±shiny, black; funicle encircling seed in single or double fold, dark red-brown; aril clavate.

Habitat

Grows in brown gravelly loam on the side of a laterite breakaway in Eucalyptus low woodland.

Specimens

W.A.: NW of Dandaragan [precise localities withheld for conservation reasons], S.D.Hopper 2378 (PERTH), B.R.Maslin 6116 (MEL, PERTH) and A.Popplewell s.n. (AD, CANB, NSW, NY, PERTH00720577).

Notes

This species was treated as Acacia sp. D by B.R.Maslin, Fl. Australia 11A: 286 (2001).

Phyllodes variable with variation seemingly related to biological maturity of the foliage. Juvenile phyllodes are elliptic to obovate, generally 3–6 (–8) cm wide with l:w 1.5–3, ±undulate, coriaceous, glaucous, pruinose, straight and rounded-obtuse. Mature adult phyllodes are narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate, generally 1–3 cm wide with l:w 4–8, not undulate, more thinly textured, grey-green to subglaucous, straight to shallowly recurved and acute to acuminate.

Information on the biology, ecology etc. is given by C.P.Elliot et al., Aust. J. Bot. 50: 66 (2002) and B.R.Maslin & C.P.Elliot, Nuytsia 16: 85 (2006).

A member of the ‘Acacia microbotrya group’ and most readily distinguished from its two closest relatives, A. microbotrya and A. daphnifolia, by its pruinose branchlets, broader phyllodes (which have the general appearance of being over-sized forms of A. meisneri or A. merrickae), more numerous flowers per head and ±flat, pruinose pods which are scarcely constricted between the seeds.

Conservation

Gazetted a rare species in W.A.

FOA Reference

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

Author

Revised by B.R.Maslin & J.Reid

B.R.Maslin