Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Largely confined to the northern part of the Burdekin R. basin between c. 18°30’S and 21°S, Qld.

Description

Shrub or tree 2–9 m high. Branchlets acutely angled at extremities, glabrous, often reddish. Phyllodes mostly shallowly to strongly falcate, occasionally a few substraight and ±dimidiate, broadest at or below middle, 9–15 cm long, 7–15 (–22) mm wide, glabrous, green or grey-green; with numerous, longitudinal, parallel nerves rather crowded (4–6 per mm), 2 or 3 nerves more pronounced than the rest and free (not running together or confluent with margin at base of phyllode), anastomoses very few or absent; pulvinus 3–5 mm long; gland basal, prominent with distinct swelling and an obvious orifice. Inflorescences simple; peduncles (7–) 10–15 (–20) mm long; spikes (3–) 4–7 (–8) cm long, bright golden, flowers subdense or infrequently distant. Flowers 5-merous; calyx gamosepalous, cupular 0.5–0.75 mm long, glabrous except for a few minute trichomes on margins of lobes; ovary white-hirsute. Pods (immature) linear, slightly but discernibly constricted between seeds, straight to shallowly curved, 3–4 mm wide, glabrous, resinous, dark brown, margins thick and yellow. Seeds longitudinal.

Habitat

Grows on stony and sandy soils on hillsides and on creek banks.

Specimens

Qld: Greenvale Nickel Mine turn off, 18°53’S 144°53’E, G.N.Batianoff GV9104106 & Franks (BRI); Torrens Ck, C.T.White 8725 (BRI).

Notes

Acacia burdekensis is taxonomically not far removed from the ‘A cunninghamii group’ (see A. concurrens). It was formerly included in the rather heterogeneous and more southerly distributed A. leiocalyx from which it differs most obviously in that the main nerves of its phyllodes do not run together at the base. Phyllodes similar in shape to those of A. leptostachya, fide L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 5: 314 (1999).

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