Daviesia cordata Smith (1808b: 259)

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

Phytotaxa 300 (1) © 2017 Magnolia Press • 67 23. Daviesia cordata Smith (1808b: 259) , Bentham (1864: 72), Crisp (1987a: 248), Crisp (1995: 1183), Wheeler et al. (2002: 742). Mirbelia cordata (Sm.) G.A. Pritzel (1855: 718) . Type: ‘This is a native of the country near King George’s Sound...’ Holotype: LINN; isotypes: BM, LIV, MO

68 • Phytotaxa 300 (1) © 2017 Magnolia Press

CRISP ET AL.

Slender, often single-stemmed shrubs to 1.5 m high, glabrous. Root anatomy normal (unistelar). Branchlets ascending, terete, lightly ribbed. Phyllodes scattered, spreading, ovate to occasionally broadly so, attenuate to a long acuminate apex, margins shallowly to deeply crenulate, basally cordate and amplexicaul, rarely hastate, articulate at the thickened node, decurrent, 35–150 × 22–85 mm; venation prominently reticulate. Seedling phyllodes ± alternate, gradually becoming scattered and cordate after 4 or 5 nodes, 45–95 × 25–50 mm. Unit inflorescences 1 or more per axil, corymbiform, 10–15-flowered; peduncle 20–70 mm long, with a pair of circular, herbaceous involucral bracts at the summit, these 5–15 mm broad, basally truncate to cordate, becoming scarious and enlarging to 25–50 mm broad to enclose pods, prominently reticulate; subtending bracts spreading to ascending, oblong, ca. 1 mm long; barren bracts scattered along the peduncle, spreading, oblong, ca. 1 mm long. Pedicel 4–6.5 mm long. Calyx 6–7 mm long including the 1–1.5 mm receptacle; upper 2 lobes united into a broad, truncate, emarginate lip, ca. 1.5 mm long; lower 3 lobes triangular, ca. 1.5 mm long. Corolla : standard circular to transversely elliptic, emarginate, 10–12 × 9–15 mm including the ca. 3 mm claw, yellow towards the base and lateral margins, infused with orange towards the apex and centre, with a deeper yellow bilobed centre outlined in maroon; wings obovate with a rounded, incurved apex, auriculate, 9.5–10.5 × 3–4.5 mm including the ca. 3 mm claw, pinkish red to purple; keel half broadly elliptic, beaked, saccate, 8–9 × 2.5 mm including the 2–2.5 mm claw, pinkish purple. Stamens slightly dimorphic: anthers all basifixed; inner whorl of 5 with slightly shorter filaments and rounder anthers with confluent thecae; outer whorl of 5 with slightly longer filaments and oblong, 2-celled anthers; vexillary anther with confluent thecae; filaments all compressed, cohering. Pod obliquely shallowly obtriangular, compressed, apex acute, with a persistent mucro-like style, 12–16 × 8–11 mm; upper suture sigmoid; lower suture acute. Seed ellipsoid, longitudinally compressed, ca. 5–5.5 mm long, 3–3.5 mm broad, 2 mm thick, light brown to black, with no mottling; aril ca. 3–3.5 mm long. ( Fig. 24 ).

Flowering period:— July to December. Fruiting period: December to February.

Distribution:— Western Australia, common through the Jarrah forest of the Darling Range from a little north of Perth to the far south-west and east to Albany, with rare occurrences in the wheatbelt, e.g. Boyagin Rock and Tutanning Reserve.

Habitat:— Grows in a variety of sandy and gravelly soils, in Eucalyptus (especially E. marginata ) dominated open forest or mallee-heath.

Selected specimens (145 examined):— WESTERN AUSTRALIA. Avon: Boyagin Rock Reserve , 4.5 km E of Beverley – Williams road, 32°29’S, 116°52’E, M . D. Crisp 6662, 22 July 1980 ( CBG); H-8 vicinity, Tutanning Reserve , 27 km E of Pingelly, 32°32’S, 117°22’E, G . Heinsohn 68, 16 October 1967 ( PERTH). Eyre: Mt Barker , Rocky Gully road, 34°39’S, 117°39’E, A. M . Ashby 2013, 14 October 1966 ( AD, SI, WRSL); Mt Barker, Kerongerups [sic], 34°39’S, 117°39’E, F. J. H . Mueller s.n. ( MEL 77849 ). Darling: Darling Range scarp, near Wattle Grove (Perth), just S of Welshpool Road , 32°01’S, 116°02’E, M . D. Crisp 1050, 13 August 1965 ( AD, CBG, PERTH); ca. 50 km N of Walpole, on the Lake Muir Road , 34°30’S, 116°38’E, R . Pullen 9962, 11 December 1974 ( CANB); Helena Valley , 32°00’S, 116°20’E, J . Seabrook 215, 7 September 1977 ( PERTH); 20 km N of Boddington, Bannister Hill , 32°38’S, 116°29’E, M . D. Crisp 5388, 22 January 1979 ( CBG, PERTH); 23 km from Pemberton along road to Nannup, Tobruk Road turnoff, 34°25’S, 115°49’E, M . D. Crisp 5348, 21 January 1979 ( CBG, MEL, PERTH) .

Affinity:— The distinctive cordate, amplexicaul, attenuate phyllodes of D. cordata readily distinguish it from all other species in the genus. Daviesia crenulata has basally truncate or slightly cordate phyllodes with reticulate venation and the apex is more or less pungent and shortly acuminate, not attenuate.

Figures

FIGURE 24. Daviesia cordata. A. Fruiting branchlet, showing involucres enlarged to enclose pods. B. Inflorescence. C. Pod. A, C from Crisp 5348; B from Crisp 1050. Drawn by A.L. Prowse.