Daviesia ulicifolia subsp. pilligensis Chandler & Crisp (1997: 45)

Crisp, Michael D., Cayzer, Lindy, Chandler, Gregory T. & Cook, Lyn G., 2017, A monograph of Daviesia (Mirbelieae, Faboideae, Fabaceae), Phytotaxa 300 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

10d. Daviesia ulicifolia subsp. pilligensis Chandler & Crisp (1997: 45) , Crisp (2002: 528). Type: New South Wales, Central-west slopes, Goonoo State Forest, 15 km from Mendooran along road to Dubbo, 31°55’S, 149°01’E, M.D. Crisp 3272 & D. Verdon, 4 October 1977. Holotype: CANB; isotype: NSW

Open-crowned shrubs to 3 m high, glabrous. Root anatomy normal (unistelar). Phyllodes elliptic to ovate, 7–20 × 2–5(–7) mm, flat to undulate or twisted, sometimes slightly concave above; midvein ca. equally prominent above and below; secondary venation visible in fresh leaves. Unit inflorescences solitary or in pairs in the axils, 1- flowered. Pedicels 1.5–2.5 mm long. Calyx 2–3 mm long including the 0.5–1 mm receptacle; upper 2 lobes slightly broader than the lower 3. Corolla : standard elliptic, claw broader and cuneate, 5–6 × 4.5–5.5 mm including the ca. 1.5 mm claw, yellow with red markings; wings deeply auriculate at the base, ca. 4.5 × 1.5 mm including the ca. 1.5 mm claw, dark red centrally grading to yellow at the margins and apex; keel saccate and auriculate at the base, ca. 4 × 1.5 mm including the ca. 1.5 mm claw, dark red. ( Fig. 11E ).

Flowering period:— August to November. Fruiting period: October to December.

Distribution:— From the Darling Downs, south-east Queensland, to the western slopes of New South Wales, especially the Pilliga Scrub.

Habitat:— Grows in deep sandy soil in the heath understorey of woodland and open forest with Callitris , Eucalyptus and Acacia dominating the overstorey.

Selected specimens (17 examined):— QUEENSLAND. Darling Downs: Bybera, between Inglewood and Milmerran , 28°16’S, 150°49’E, C. T . White 12612, 20 September 1944 ( BRI, CANB); Western Creek State Forest , ca. 37 km W of Milmerran, 27°53’S, 150°53’E, M . D. Crisp 11677, 11 April 2015 ( BRI, CANB) . NEW SOUTH WALES. North-west Slopes: 9.7 km Coonabarabran to Narrabri road, 31°12’S, 149°19’E, G. W . Althofer s.n., October 1977 ( NSW 141275 ); Yetman, and 8 km E of Warialda , 28°54’S, 150°46’E, V. E . Sands 628.8.1, 8 August 1962 ( PERTH, SYD). North-western Plains: Pilliga scrub, 6 km from Pilliga towards Baradine, 30°24’20’ S, 148°58’E, G. T . Chandler 86, 9 September 1994 ( CANB, NSW). Central western Slopes: Goonoo State Forest, 15 km from Mendooran along road to Dubbo , 31°55’ S 149°01’ E, M . D. Crisp 3271 & D. Verdon, 4 October 1977 ( CBG, MEL) .

Affinity:— Like D. arenaria , this subspecies grows on deep sand and can have a similar phyllode shape, i.e. ovate; however, the midrib of the phyllode in D. arenaria is prominent only on the abaxial surface and the standard is orange, not yellow. Daviesia ulicifolia subsp. pilligensis is similar in phyllode shape to subsp. ruscifolia , but the latter differs in having an orange standard, obscure secondary venation (except in dried phyllodes), and the midrib is more prominent on the adaxial surface. Plants of subsp. ulicifolia from western New South Wales (e.g. West Wyalong) resemble subsp. pilligensis , but the latter has broader phyllodes, grows in deep sand, has conspicuous lateral venation and the midrib is about equally prominent above and below.

Figures

FIGURE 11. Daviesia ulicifolia subsp. ulicifolia. A. Flowering branchlet. B. Inflorescence (1-flowered). C. Pod. A, B from Crisp 6738; C from Rodway 15476. Drawn by B-J. Osborne. Adapted from Chandler and Crisp (1997), with permission from CSIRO Publishing.