Acacia chrysotricha Tindale
WATTLE
Acacias of Australia
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
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a mobile application:
URL: https://apps.lucidcentral.org/wattle/
© Copyright 2018. All rights reserved.