Acacia flexifolia A.Cunn. ex Benth.
WATTLE
Acacias of Australia
Common Name
Bent-leaf Wattle, Small Winter Wattle
Family
Fabaceae
Distribution
Scattered on the inland slopes of the Great Divide and adjacent plains from near Miles, Qld, S through N.S.W. to Wedderburn, Vic.
Description
Rather bushy spreading shrub normally to 1.5 m high. Branchlets appressed-puberulous and scurfy between the prominently raised resin-ribs. Phyllodes ascending to erect, linear to narrowly linear, normally kinked or bent upwards at a few mm above the base, 1–2.5 cm long, 0.7–2.5 mm wide, often slightly dilated at apex, obtuse, dull green to grey-green, glabrous, sometimes glutinous; midrib markedly raised, very close to adaxial margin and often contiguous with it towards apex. Inflorescences simple, mostly 2 per axil; peduncles (1–) 2–4 mm long, hoary, resinous; basal bract persistent; heads globular, 3–10-flowered, pale yellow or lemon yellow, resinous. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united. Pods narrowly linear, straight to curved, to 10 cm long, 2–3 mm wide, thinly coriaceous, brown, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 4–5 mm long, shiny, brown; aril terminal.
Habitat
Grows in shallow soil in open forest or mallee scrub.
Specimens
Qld: 16–24 km N of Miles, V.Hando 141 (BRI). N.S.W.: 4.8 km W of West Wyalong on Midwestern Hwy, 14 June 1967, M.Tindale & J.Lanyon s.n. (NSW, PERTH). Vic.: Central Whipstick scrub near Bendigo, 27 Dec. 1953, W.Perry s.n. (MEL).
Notes
Related to A. lineata which differs especially in its obscure branchlet ribs which are not coated with a thick layer of resin, 10–16-flowered heads on peduncles 5–10 mm long, and phyllodes which are never ±kinked near their base and which possess scarcely raised (yet clearly excentric) midribs.
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 B.R.Maslin & J.Rogers
B.R.Maslin
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