Daviesia argillacea Crisp (1995: 1171)

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

67. Daviesia argillacea Crisp (1995: 1171) . Type: Western Australia, Roe, ca. 55 km SSW of Norseman, 5 km from highway towards Peak Charles , 32°38’S, 121°29’E, M. D. Crisp 5956, J. Taylor & R. Jackson, 20 September 1979. Holotype: CBG; isotypes: K, NSW, PERTH

Daviesia obtusifolia Mueller (1860: 104) var. parvifolia E.Pritz. in Diels & E.Pritzel (1904: 247). Type: ‘Hab. in distr. Coolgardie pr. Gilmores in fruticetis lutosis fruct. m. Nov. (D. 5270)’ (B†). The type is missing, presumably destroyed in the Berlin herbarium during the Second World War ( Hiepko 1987). However, from the description it seems probable that this taxon is conspecific with D. argillacea .

Daviesia phyllodinea Moore (1920: 168) var. parvifolia S. Moore (1920: 168) . Type: ‘Bruce Rock; Stoward, 469.’ Holotype: BM.

Erect, bushy shrubs, to 2 m or higher, glabrous, glaucescent. Root anatomy with anomalous secondary thickening (cord type) or normal (unistelar). Branchlets ascending, terete, lightly ribbed. Phyllodes fairly crowded, erect, usually narrowly obovate, rarely narrowly elliptic, usually obtuse and mucronate at apex, tapered to base, articulate, 7–22(–35) × 3–6 mm; midrib visible, venation obscure. Unit inflorescences 1(2) per axil, flowers solitary or 2–3 in racemes; peduncle 0.25–2 mm long; rachis 0–1.5 mm long; subtending bracts ascending, spathulate, hooded, ca. 0.75 mm long. Pedicels 1–2.5 mm long. Calyx campanulate or tapering, 3.5–4 mm long including the ca. 1–1.25 mm receptacle, dull green with purple margins; upper 2 lobes united in a truncate, emarginate lip, ca. 0.5 mm long; lower 3 lobes triangular, ca. 0.5 mm long. Corolla : standard transversely elliptic, emarginate, cordate, 4.5–5 × 5–6.5 mm including the ca. 1.5 mm claw, orange to orange-yellow with a dull red or maroon centre; wings obliquely elliptic, rounded and incurved at apex, scarcely overlapping, auriculate, ca. 4.5 × 2 mm including the 1.5 mm claw, orange with maroon infusion towards base; keel half transversely elliptic, scarcely acute, auriculate, saccate, ca. 4 × 2 mm including the 1.75 mm claw, maroon. Stamens strongly dimorphic: inner whorl of 5 with longer, terete filaments and shorter, round, versatile anthers with confluent thecae; outer whorl of 5 with shorter, compressed filaments and longer, oblong, basifixed, 2-celled anthers; filaments free. Pod obliquely shallowly obtriangular, ± acute, compressed, 5–7 × 3.5–4.5 mm, thin-walled; upper suture strongly sigmoid; lower suture acute. Seed not seen. ( Fig. 67 ).

Flowering period:— July to October. Fruiting period: November.

Distribution:— Southern Western Australia, widespread in the region approximately delimited by Southern Cross, Narembeen, the Pallinup River, Mt Ragged and Lake Lefroy.

Habitat:— Grows in sand, sandy, clayey or gravelly soils over laterite or granite, mostly on flat landscapes in eucalypt woodland or mallee shrubland with understorey shrubs such as broombush ( Melaleuca spp. ) or Dodonaea Miller (1754 : [unpaged]).

Selected specimens (41 examined):— WESTERN AUSTRALIA. Avon: Bendering [41 km from Narembeen along road to Kondinin], 32°24’S, 118°18’E, C. A . Gardner 9465, 18 October 1949 ( CANB, K, PERTH); ibid., M . D. Crisp 5518, 27 January 1979 ( CBG, MEL). Coolgardie: Ca. 90 km WNW of Norseman, 8 km E along road from T-junction between Bank Rock and salt lake, 31°57’S, 120°52’E, M . D. Crisp 5934 et al., 19 September 1979 ( CBG, MEL, NSW, PERTH); 27 km S of Yellowdine, 2 km SE of Pathfinder homestead, 31°32’S, 119°37’E, M . D. Crisp 5578, 30 January 1979 ( CBG, MEL). Roe : 90 mile tank, ca. 80 km W of Daniell, 32°42’S, 120°44’E, P. G . Wilson 3183, 15 September 1964 ( AD, CANB, NY, PERTH); 2–4 km S of Dingo Rock , 33°05’S, 122°08’E, W . Archer 2010908, 20 October 1990 ( CANB, PERTH); Kulin Soak Nature Reserve , 32°32’S, 118°09’S, K. J . Atkins 1368, 23 January 1984 ( CANB); 7 km NE of Clear Streak Well, ca. 65 km SE of Norseman , 32°26’S, 122°27’E, K . Newbey 7701, 25 September 1980 ( PERTH); ca. 110 km SW of Norseman, 3 km W of Dog Rock , 32°58’S, 121°02’S, M . D. Crisp 6019 et al., 21 September 1979 ( CBG, PERTH); Cape Arid National Park ; 3.9 km N along Balladonia Road from turnoff to Mt Ragged , 33°25’S, 123°25’E, M . D. Crisp 11061, 12 October 2010 ( CANB, PERTH). Eyre : 5 km NE of Kulin, 32°40’S, 118°09’E, K . Newbey 1525, 21 October 1964 ( PERTH); 8 km N of Chillinup Pool on Pallinup River , 34°17’S, 118°37’E, M . D. Crisp 5143, 14 January 1979 ( CBG) .

Affinity:— This species is readily recognised in Western Australia by its phyllodes alone: no other Daviesia there has phyllodes that are flat, narrowly obovate or elliptic, non-pungent, small (mostly 7–25 mm long), somewhat glaucous, with a single nerve (midrib) and unthickened margins. The phyllodes of D. lancifolia may appear similar but are more or less pungent and the plant is procumbent or prostrate. Phyllodes of D. grahamii and D. newbeyi may also appear similar, but have thickened margins, and additionally the calyces are 5-ribbed. The habit of D. argillacea is erect, and its calyx is not ribbed. Daviesia emarginata may also appear similar; in fact, D. argillacea was formerly

A MONOGRAPH OF DAVIESIA

Phytotaxa 300 (1) © 2017 Magnolia Press • 155 156 • Phytotaxa 300 (1) © 2017 Magnolia Press

CRISP ET AL.

included under this species, as D. obtusifolia var. parvifolia . However, D. emarginata usually has larger, emarginate phyllodes and very different flowers, notably with a white-dotted calyx and an elongated, stipe-like receptacle that is as long as the body of the calyx. In floral and fruit characters, as well as the flat, non-pungent phyllodes, D. argillacea resembles D. mimosoides and related species in eastern Australia. However, these have either larger phyllodes ( D. mimosoides and D. suaveolens ), or more than two flowers per raceme ( D. buxifolia and D. elliptica ), or both.

Figures

FIGURE 67. Daviesia argillacea. A. Flowering branchlet. B. Inflorescence. C. Pod. A, B from Crisp 5934, C from Crisp 5518. Drawn by A.L. Prowse. Adapted from Crisp (1995) with permission from CSIRO Publishing.