Common Name

Dr George Mountain Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs on the South Coast and adjacent tablelands, N.S.W., from Wadbilliga Ck to Tathra.

Description

Shrub to tree, 3–12 m high. Bark fissured or shaggy-furrowed. Upper branchlets angled towards apices, otherwise terete, smooth, sometimes red-squamulose, often pruinose. Phyllodes somewhat dimorphic, straight and dimidiate (young) maturing falcate and very narrowly elliptic, 6–15 cm long, 7–15 (–30) mm wide, coriaceous, red-squamulose when young, with 3 main prominent and 2 subprominent nerves continuous to base; minor nerves rarely anastomosing, 4–7 (–8) per mm; gland 1, 1–3 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences racemose; raceme axes 0.5–8 (–12) mm long. Spikes (1–) 2–3.5 cm long, pale yellow. Flowers 5-merous; calyx 0.4–0.6 mm long, dissected to 1/10, with pale yellow- or white-hyaline hairs on tube (especially near base) and minute red-resin hairs on lobes (mainly at apices); corolla 1.6–2 mm long, divided almost to base, glabrous; ovary densely white-pubescent. Pods linear, slightly constricted and raised over seeds, 2–6.5 cm long, 3–4 mm wide, thinly coriaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 3–4.5 mm long, black; areole open.

Phenology

Flowers Aug.–Oct.

Habitat

Grows on hillsides facing N or W or on rocky headlands in open forest or in sclerophyll scrub, mainly on granite or rhyolite.

Specimens

N.S.W.: Dr George Mtn, 6 km c. E of Bega on Bermagui Rd, R.G.Coveny 7306 (AD, BRI, CANB, MEL, NSW, PERTH, US); Kianinny Bay, S of Tathra, M.Parris 8864 (CANB, NSW); Wadbilliga Ck, 13 km NW of Yowrie, A.N.Rodd 4316 (AD, CANB, NSW).

FOA Reference

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

Author

Dr M.D.Tindale and Dr P.G.Kodela with the assistance of M.Bedward, S.J.Davies, C.Herscovitch, D.A.Keith and/or D.A.Morrison

Minor edits by B.R.Maslin & J.Rogers