Common Name

Warrumbungle Range Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Restricted to Warrumbungle Natl Park, N.S.W.

Description

Bushy shrub c. 2 m high. Branchlets acutely angled at extremities, red-brown, glabrous. Phyllodes on raised stem-projections, ascending to erect, linear or linear-oblanceolate, straight to shallowly incurved, 6–10 cm long, 2–5 mm wide, narrowed at base, often abruptly narrowed to an acute apex, thin; midrib fine; lateral nerves obscure and longitudinally anastomosing; gland not prominent, 4–14 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences 5–10-headed racemes; raceme axes 2–4 cm long, slender, glabrous; peduncles 4–7 mm long, slender, glabrous; heads globular, 20–35-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united almost to apex. Pods (few seen) narrowly oblong, slightly rounded over seeds, to 7 cm long, 4–7 mm wide, ±chartaceous, obscurely reticulate, red-brown, glabrous. Seeds (few seen) longitudinal, oblong, 5 mm long, dull, black; funicle encircling seed in a double fold, dark red-black; aril clavate.

Habitat

Grows in sandy alluvium in open woodland.

Specimens

N.S.W.: Side of Bluff Mtn, Warrumbungle Ra., 23 Jan. 1975, R.H.Harden (NSW).

Notes

Regarded as a member of the ‘Acacia microbotrya group’ on account of its long, reddish funicle which encircles the seeds. Very closely related to A. flocktoniae. Acacia linearifolia and A. macnuttiana are similar to A. forsythii in having long, linear phyllodes and racemose inflorescences, but both relatives have short funicles which do not encircle the seeds.

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