Common Name

Chalker’s Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Restricted to the Wombeyan Caves area, N.S.W.

Description

Bushy shrub to 3 m high. Branchlets angled at extremities, dark reddish, glabrous. Phyllodes on raised stem-projections, ascending to erect, oblanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, 2.5–5.5 (–6.5) cm long, 3–10 (–17) mm wide, obtuse-mucronulate, thin, sometimes glaucous, glabrous; midrib fine yet distinct; lateral nerves rather obscure; gland not prominent, 1–10 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences 6–8-headed racemes; raceme axes 10–20 (–30) mm long, glabrous; peduncles (2–) 3–5 mm long, slender, glabrous; heads globular, densely 15–25-flowered, bright yellow. Flowers 5-merous; sepals c. 5/6-united; petals 1.4 mm long. Pods stipitate, linear, to 9 cm long, 5–7 mm wide, firmly chartaceous, often slightly pruinose, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong to elliptic, 4–5 mm long, slightly shiny, black; funicle encircling seed in a single fold, convoluted, dark red-brown; aril thick.

Phenology

Flowers principally Oct.–Jan.

Habitat

Restricted to limestone soils.

Specimens

N.S.W.: Entrance road to Wombeyan Caves, A.L.Mitchell 535 (NSW).

Notes

A member of the ‘Acacia microbotrya group’, perhaps nearest A. amoena which has phyllodes with 2–4 exserted glands, sepals free to c. 1/2-united and dark brown bracteoles that are clearly evident in buds. The two species are sometimes sympatric. Closely resembling A. wattsiana (S.A.) and may resemble small phyllode forms of A. rubida.

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