Common Name

Ganambureng

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Widespread in tropical Australia in W.A., N.T. and Qld, N of 21ºS.

Description

Shrub or tree to 4 m high. Bark smooth, red-brown or grey. Branchlets angular, olive-green or brown, with the 4 angles raised, yellowish. Phyllodes narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate, often shallowly incurved, (5–) 6–12 (–15) cm long, (5–) 12–30 (–33) mm wide, narrowed and curved upwards near base; with 2 or 3 conspicuous main nerves tending to be confluent near lower margin at base; minor nerves 5–10 per mm, longitudinal, often a few anastomosing; gland 1, prominent, circular, basal. Peduncles mostly 3–6 mm long. Spikes single or paired, or often in terminal panicles owing to upper phyllode loss, 1–3 cm long, bright yellow. Flowers 5-merous; calyx 0.8–1.2 mm long, dissected to 1/3–1/2, densely pubescent, persistent after fruit initiation; corolla 1.5–2 mm long, dissected to 1/4–1/2, glabrous; ovary densely pubescent. Pods clustered in upper axils, linear, flat, slightly constricted between seeds, 2–4.5 cm long, 2–4 mm wide, tapering towards base and apex, thin, glabrous, resinous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong- or broadly elliptic, 3–4 mm long, ±black; areole open, narrow.

Phenology

Flowers May–July.

Habitat

Grows usually in shallow stony soils in N.T. and Qld, but on more loamy soils S of Charters Towers, Qld.

Specimens

W.A.: Edgar Ra., K.F.Kenneally 5485 (BRI, PERTH). N.T.: c. 1 mile [1.6 km] W [of] Jump Up area, Murranji S.R., 7 Sept. 1957, G.Chippendale (DNA, NSW); between Brunette Downs & Anthony Lagoon, 12 June 1971, B.Maloney (DNA, NSW). Qld: 7.5 miles [12.1 km] N of Charters Towers turnoff on Hughenden/Mt Garnet road, P.Hind 1049 & C.K.Ingram (BRI, CANB, NSW, PERTH, TL); Mount Isa–Camooweal road, 80 miles [130 km] from Mount Isa, 11 June 1971, B.Maloney (NSW, PERTH).

Notes

Details of ecology, utilisation, etc. of A. gonoclada are given in L.A.J.Thomson & N.Hall, Austral. Acacias no. 23, CSIRO Division of Forestry & Forest Products (1989).

Allied to A. laccata and A. fecunda. Putative rare hybrids between A. gonoclada and A. elachantha (glabrous variant) are noted in M.W.McDonald & B.R.Maslin, Austral. Syst. Bot. 10: 318 (1997). Acacia gonoclada also putatively hybridises with A. thomsonii in N.T.

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.Reid & J.Rogers