Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Extending from Kalbarri Natl Park S to near Tammin and Brookton, south-western W.A.

Description

Rigid much-branched spreading shrub 0.3–1 m high, sometimes semi-prostrate, glabrous or sometimes hirtellous. Branches striate, pruinose between ribs. Branchlets numerous, short, divaricate, spinescent, aphyllous. Phyllodes often erect, linear, semi-terete to flat, 7–15 mm long, sometimes 20–40 mm long at base of branchlets, 0.5–1.5 mm wide, excentrically mucronulate with apex sometimes uncinate; midrib raised; upper margin often slightly thickened. Inflorescences rudimentary 1-headed racemes with axes > 0.5 mm long; peduncles 4–10 mm long; basal bracts brown; heads globular to shortly obloid, golden, 4.5–5.5 mm diam., 15–25-flowered; bracteoles concave, brown. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united; petals 1-nerved. Pods constricted between and prominently rounded over seeds, curved, to 4 cm long, 2.5–3.5 mm wide, very thinly coriaceous, dark brown. Seeds longitudinal, ovate, obliquely truncate adjacent to prominent aril, 2.5–3 mm long, khaki-coloured; aril dark coloured.

Habitat

Grows in often stony clay or loam.

Specimens

W.A.: Moresby Ra. on Nanson–Howatharra road, A.M.Ashby 3801 (K, MEL); 4.8 km N of Moora on Geraldton Hwy, B.R.Maslin 3276 (CANB, PERTH); 5 km from Yerecoin towards Bolgart, B.R.Maslin 3385 (BM, PERTH); Junga Dam, 21 km E of Kalbarri, P.G.Wilson 6608 (MEL, PERTH).

Notes

May be confused with the sometimes sympatric A. spinosissima which has generally broader, consistently flat phyllodes with midrib scarcely raised, ebracteolate heads, nerveless petals and pruinose pods.

E.Pritzel, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 35: 299 (1904), misapplied the name A. ulicina to a specimen of A. oxyclada. He then described true A. ulicina as A. leptacantha. J.H.Maiden J. & Proc. Roy. Soc. New South Wales 53: 192 (1920), erroneously synonymised A. leptacantha E.Pritz. under A. spinosissima.

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