Daviesia flava Pedley (1977: 35)

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

45. Daviesia flava Pedley (1977: 35) , Crisp (1995: 1193). Type: Queensland, Cook, Kuranda–Mareeba road, ‘ Webb & Tracey 5929, 28 February 1962 ...’ Holotype: BRI; isotypes: CANB, K

Spreading to rounded shrubs, to 2 m high, glabrous. Root anatomy unknown. Branchlets ascending, terete, prominently ribbed. Phyllodes scattered, spreading, linear or narrow-ovate to -obovate, apex acute to rounded, base cuneate with a thickened articulation, 30–130 × 2–17 mm, primary and secondary venation prominent on both abaxial and adaxial surfaces. Unit inflorescences racemose (rarely paniculate), solitary to several in the axils or occasionally terminal, often appearing umbel-like toward the apex, 3–10-flowered; peduncle 8–24 mm long; rachis 0.5–13 mm long; subtending bracts spreading to recurved, triangular near the base of the peduncle, becoming oblong distally, ca. 1.5 mm long. Pedicel 4.5–11 mm long. Calyx 3–3.5 mm long including the 1–1.5 mm receptacle; upper 2 lobes united higher than the lower 3, ca. 1 mm long; lower 3 lobes triangular, ca. 0.75 mm long. Corolla entirely yellow; standard transversely elliptic, emarginate, auriculate, 5–6 × 5–8 mm including the ca. 1.5 mm claw; wings elliptic with a rounded, incurved apex, scarcely enclosing the keel, auriculate, 6–7 × 2.25–2.75 mm including the 1.5–2 mm claw; keel half transversely elliptic, acute, auriculate, saccate, 5–5.5 × 1.5–2.2 mm including the ca. 2 mm claw. Stamens strongly dimorphic: inner whorl of 5 with longer, narrower filaments and shorter, round, versatile anthers with confluent thecae; outer whorl of 5 with shorter, broader filaments and longer, oblong, basifixed, 2-celled anthers; filaments compressed, cohering. Pod obliquely shallowly obtriangular, acute, ± compressed, 8–10 × 5–6 mm; upper suture strongly sigmoid; lower suture acute. Seed oblong, ca. 3 mm long, 2–2.2 mm broad, 1 mm thick, light brown with black mottling; aril ca. 1 mm long. ( Fig. 44 ).

Flowering period:— March to November. Fruiting period: May to November.

Distribution:— Far north Queensland, from the Laura sandstones south to the Newcastle Range and near Townsville.

Habitat:— Sandy soils, sometimes gravelly, on hillsides and steep rocky slopes on sandstone or granite, in open eucalypt— Eucalyptus and Corymbia K.D. Hill & Johnson (1995: 214) —forest or woodland with Acacia spp. and a mixed shrub understorey.

A MONOGRAPH OF DAVIESIA

Phytotaxa 300 (1) © 2017 Magnolia Press • 107 108 • Phytotaxa 300 (1) © 2017 Magnolia Press

CRISP ET AL.

Selected specimens (25 examined):— QUEENSLAND. Cook: Giant Horse Gallery, Laura, 15°40’S, 144°30’E, B . Hyland 8121, 9 March 1975 ( BRI, CANB, QRS); Henderson Range, ca. 33 km NW of Cooktown, 0.5 km from Isabella Falls along Battle Camp Road towards Laura, 15°18’S, 145°01’E, I. R . Telford 12054, 8 July 1994 ( BRI, CBG, MEL, NSW); 16 km from Laura towards Lakeland Downs , 15°40’S, 144°32’E, J. W . Wrigley & I. R . Telford NQ 1490, 20 June 1972 ( CBG); Cooktown Road, ca. 15°S, 125°E, I . Olsen 392, 13 June 1967 ( BRI, CANB, NSW). North Kennedy : 6.5 km SW of Mt Garnet, 17°45’S, 145°00’E, B . Hyland 5070, 1 June 1971 ( BRI, QRS); Princess Hills, Lumholtz National Park , W of Cardwell, 18°17’S, 145°20’E, A. R . Bean 5162, 20 October 1992 ( BRI, CANB, PERTH) .

Affinity:— Daviesia reclinata resembles D. flava in general aspect, phyllodes, inflorescence, flower (including the pure yellow corolla) and fruit morphology, and also occurs in northern Australia but farther west, in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Daviesia reclinata differs in having linear phyllodes ≤ 6 mm broad, longer racemes (rachis 10–140 mm long) that are occasionally paniculate but not condensed and umbelliform toward the apex, larger flowers (e.g. calyx 4–5 mm long, standard 7–8.5 × 6–7 mm), and the calyx is noticeably accrescent in fruit.

Figures

FIGURE 44. Daviesia flava. A. Flowering branchlet. B. Inflorescence with calyces representing flowers. C. Pod. A–C from Wrigley & Telford NQ1490. Drawn by B-J. Osborne.