Common Name

Barrington Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs in the Great Divide from Gibraltar Range Natl Park S to Barrington and Gloucester Tops, northern N.S.W.

Description

Usually a shrub 1–3 m high. Branchlets angled at extremities, with indumentum of ±sparse minute (< 0.1 mm long) appressed straight hairs. Phyllodes narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblong-elliptic, usually 5–10 cm long, 5–15 (–20) mm wide, thin, with indumentum as on branchlets but denser on young tips, occasionally some glabrous, 1-nerved; lateral nerves obscure; gland not exserted, normally 5–23 mm above pulvinus, often connected to midrib by a fine oblique nerve, with margin normally slightly recessed at gland. Inflorescences racemose; raceme axes usually 1.5–3.5 cm long, with indumentum as on branchlets but often denser; peduncles 2–5 mm long, with indumentum as on raceme axes; heads globular,
8–16 (–20)-flowered, golden; bracteoles similar to A. caesiella. Flowers 5-merous; sepals c. 4/5‑united; ovary densely pubescent. Pods stipitate, to 8 cm long, (7–) 10–12 mm wide, firmly chartaceous, dark brown, glabrous or with sparse minute appressed hairs, often ±pruinose, dehiscing unilaterally. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 4–6 mm long, slightly shiny, black; aril clavate.

Habitat

Grows in soil derived from granite or basalt, near creeks or on margins of swamps, in Eucalyptus forest or woodland, usually at altitudes above 1000 m.

Specimens

N.S.W.: Gloucester Tops, R.Coveny (NSW95769), Mulligan’s Hut, Gibraltar Range Natl Park, R.Coveny 2229 (NSW); Barrington Tops, at top of Moonan Brook track, I.R.Telford 2583 (PERTH).

Notes

A specimen from the Upper Manning R., Barrington Tops, (D.F.Blaxell 26 & R.G.Coveny, NSW) is slightly unusual in being a tree to 5 m high and with phyllodes to 13 cm long and racemes to c. 6 cm long.

Acacia barringtonensis together with A. caesiella, A. clunies-rossiae and A. dorothea forms a group of related species which are discussed by M.D.Tindale, Telopea 1: 72–74 (1975). Related to A. covenyi, fide M.D.Tindale, Telopea 1: 435 (1980). Acacia polifolia from Qld is closely allied to these species.

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

Minor edits by B.R.Maslin & J.Rogers