Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Restricted to near Wongan Hills and Watheroo, south-western W.A.

Description

Spreading semi-prostrate shrub to 0.3 m high. Branchlets pubescent. Stipules persistent, setaceous to linear-triangular, 1–2 mm long, joined near base when very young. Phyllodes linear to narrowly oblong, narrowed at base, straight to shallowly sigmoid, planoconvex but normally horizontally flattened upon drying, 4–8 mm long, c. 1 mm wide, shallowly recurved to uncinate, with slender distinct mucro, sometimes medially sulcate above (dry), glabrous or loosely hairy, ±nerveless; gland on upper surface near apex of phyllode, often absent. Inflorescences simple, 1 per axil; peduncles (2–) 3–5 mm long, glabrous or sparsely puberulous; heads globular, 3–4 mm diam., 12–16-flowered, light golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 3/4‑united. Pods (dehisced valves) linear, not or scarcely constricted between seeds, openly curved or twisted, to c. 20 mm long, 1–1.5 mm wide. Seeds (aborted) longitudinal.

Phenology

Winter flowering.

Habitat

Grows in sand and loam in low scrub.

Specimens

W.A.: NE of Watheroo, E.A.Griffin 7723 (PERTH); Wongan Hills, P.Roberts 91 (PERTH, TLF).

Notes

Similar to A. ericifolia and A. leptospermoides, both of which have obtuse or barely acute phyllode tips; all three species have small, horizontally flattened phyllodes (i.e. diaphyllodes, see discussion under A. diaphyllodinea). One of the plurinerved taxa, A. brachyphylla var. recurvata, is superficially similar but its phyllodes are minutely villous or only papillose on nerves with 6 strongly raised nerves, its heads with fewer flowers and its pods wider and undulate.

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

B.R.Maslin

Minor edits by J.Rogers