Common Name

Bellinger River Wattle, Newry Golden Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Endemic to the Brierfield–Newry State Forest region (inland from Macksville), North Coast, N.S.W.

Description

Tree 6–15 (–21) m high; trunk to 0.3 m diam. Bark on young trees lightly fissured vertically and grey, later deeply fissured and dark red-brown. Branchlets inconspicuously ridged, densely clothed with spreading golden (later dark grey or fawn) hairs 0.8–1.2 mm long. Young foliage-tips deep golden, villous. Leaves dark green above, paler beneath, subsessile with basal pinnae mostly arising from just above the pulvinus; rachis 5–14 cm long, eglandular or with 1 broadly cup-shaped dark brown ±glabrous gland at base of or between the lowest 1–3 pairs of pinnae and/or base of the uppermost 1–3 pairs of pinnae (usually absent from basal pinnae), interjugary glands absent or rarely an odd one present; pinnae (8–) 12–18 pairs, (1–) 1.5–4.5 (–5) cm long; pinnules (6–) 12–25 pairs, oblong to oblong-elliptic, 3–4.5 mm long, 1–1.5 mm wide, recurved, 1‑nerved, with few long white or golden hairs especially along midnerve and margins, acute or subacute. Inflorescences in axillary racemes or terminal false-panicles; peduncles 3–7 mm long, golden-hairy. Heads 15–30-flowered, golden. Pods straight to slightly curved, 3–10 cm long, 4–6 mm wide, thinly coriaceous, dark brown or black, with dark brown or whitish hairs to 2 mm long. Seeds longitudinal; funicle ±encircling the seed.

Phenology

Flowers July., Aug.; fruits Nov.

Habitat

Grows in tall open forest and rainforest as an understorey, in steep narrow gullies, in quartzite soils.

Specimens

N.S.W.: Newry State Forest, A.Floyd 766 (NSW), loc. id., A.Floyd & M.Tindale (NSW55364), loc. id., Lowery s.n. (CFSHB); Brierfield, Bellinger R., E.H.Swain 206 (NSW).

Notes

Acacia chrysotricha is a very ornamental tree for parks and large gardens. The seeds are distinctive, being almost surrounded by the funicles. This species hybridises with A. fimbriata, a member of sect. Phyllodineae (e.g. Kempsey, I.Armitage AQ404998, BRI, NSW).

FOA Reference

Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia

Author

Minor edits by J.Reid & J.Rogers

M.D.Tindale, P.G.Kodela