Acacia acuaria W.Fitzg.
WATTLE
Acacias of Australia
Family
Fabaceae
Distribution
Occurs principally from near the Murchison R. SE to near Merredin with outliers at Fields Find, south-western W.A. The two outliers of A. acuaria from Bullfinch and Mt Jackson that were noted by B.R.Maslin, Fl. Australia 11A: 473 (2001), are now treated as A. haematites (B.R.Maslin 1958a) and the long phyllode variant of A. intricata (K.R. Newbey 9098) respectively, fide B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 24: 134-135.
Description
Diffuse much-branched shrub to c. 1.5 m high. Branchlets ±spinose, often lightly pruinose, glabrous or puberulous-hirsutellous. Stipules caducous, conspicuous on new shoots, fused (dropping as a single unit). Phyllodes patent to ascending, usually acicular and terete to subterete (often drying ±flat), 6–20 mm long, 0.5–2 mm wide, pungent, rigid, finely longitudinally sulcate when dry, green, usually glabrous; midrib not prominent. Inflorescences 1-headed rudimentary racemes with axes < 0.5 mm long; peduncles usually 4–12 mm long, glabrous; basal bracts persistent; heads ±globular, usually 14–23-flowered, golden; bracteoles sessile to subsessile, concave, oblong to widely ovate, ±visible between flowers in buds. Flowers 5-merous; sepals c. 2/3-united. Pods raised over seeds, strongly curved to openly once-coiled, to c. 5 cm long, (3–) 3.5–5 mm wide, firmly chartaceous to thinly crustaceous, dark brown to black, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic, c. 3 mm long; aril about as long as seed.
Habitat
Grows in a variety of habitats but commonly in clay or sandy clay in Eucalyptus woodland or open mallee scrub.
Specimens
W.A.: Junga Dam, Kalbarri, D. & B.Bellairs 1632 (B, PERTH); 52.4 km from Wubin towards Mount Magnet, B.R.Maslin 3541 (PERTH); Mt Jackson, K.Newbey 9098 (PERTH); near T-junction of Great Eastern Hwy with Merredin–Bruce Rock road, M.D.Tindale 3731 (AD, BRI, CANB, K, L, MEL, NSW, PERTH, TL).
Notes
Related to A. haematites. Phyllodes commonly resemble those of A. sessilis and A. aculeatissima. A variant from the Wongan Hills, characterised by puberulous phyllodes with oblique, sometimes recurved apices and small pods (15–20 mm x 3 mm), is noted in B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 4: 29 (1982). A collection from near Bullfinch is atypical in its sessile, 6-flowered heads (e.g. B.R.Maslin 1958a, PERTH).
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
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