Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs in N.S.W. on the North Coast to the border with the Northern Tablelands, from McGraths Hump in Bellinger Valley (30º24'S, 152º49'E) to Werrikimbee Natl Park (31º15'S, 152º13'E); common at Mt Boss and Mt Banda Banda.

Description

Tall shrub to small tree 2.5–15 m high. Bark hard, tessellated, mottled, grey or light brown. Branchlets angled, ribbed, almost glabrous, somewhat mealy. Phyllodes linear, straight or slightly curved, 8–18 (–21) cm long, 3–9 (–11) mm wide, with glanduliferous mucro, thinly coriaceous, glabrous, with 2–5 sparsely anastomosing longitudinal nerves; midrib prominent with sometimes a subprominent nerve either side; basal gland inconspicuous. Inflorescences simple, 1–3 per axil; peduncles 7–21 mm long, normally glabrous; heads globular, 7–10 mm diam., 25–36-flowered, cream-coloured or very pale yellow. Flowers 5-merous; calyx dissected for 1/9–1/2, slightly ciliolate; corolla dissected for 1/2–2/3, glabrous. Pods linear, slightly raised over seeds, ±straight-sided or very slightly constricted between seeds, 3.5–14.5 cm long, 4–6 mm wide, coriaceous, glabrous, resinous. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic-oblong, 4.6–6.5 mm long, glossy, dark brownish black; funicle filiform, folded 1–3 times, expanded into cap-like aril, cream-coloured.

Phenology

Flowers Jan. & Feb.; fruits June., Nov.–Feb.

Habitat

Usually found at high altitudes in tall moist eucalypt forest or at the edge of cool temperate Nothofagus rainforest; also in scrub and open forest patches amongst rock outcrops along high ridges.

Specimens

N.S.W.: McGraths Hump, Bellinger Valley, Jan. 1980, J.B.Williams (AD, NE, NSW); Camerons Forestry Camp, Mt Boss (lower slope), 43 km NW of Wauchope, 17 Dec. 1975, J.R.N.Burder (BRI, MO, NSW, PERTH, Z).

Notes

Sometimes confused with A. baeuerlenii.

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

P.G.Kodela, M.D.Tindale