Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Recorded from the Cook District, north-eastern Qld, c. 33–45 km WNW of Mount Carbine in the vicinity of Spring Ck.

Description

Shrub 1–2.5 m high, openly branched, single or multistemmed. Bark smooth, silver-grey. Branchlets slightly angular towards apices, red-brown or yellowish red, squamulose, resinous. Phyllodes linear, ±straight or slightly curved, 7.5–18 cm long, 1–2 (–3) mm wide, thinly coriaceous, flat, glabrous; with 3 (or occasionally more) subdistant, longitudinal nerves, anastomoses absent or (on widest phyllodes) rare; gland 1, small, basal. Spikes (6–) 9–13 mm long, ±interrupted at maturity, pale yellow or white; peduncles (8–) 10–15 mm long. Flowers 5-merous, rarely 4-merous; calyx 0.6–0.8 mm long, dissected for 1/5–1/2, squamulose; petal midrib thickened at apex, corolla 1.5–2.1 mm long, dissected for 5/8–3/4, glabrous or with hairy apices; ovary glabrous. Pods linear, flat, 4–9 cm long, firmly crustaceous, glabrous; valves separating from apex, curling back tightly; margins yellowish, prominent. Seeds longitudinal, oblong to broadly oblong, 3–4 mm long, yellow-brown, darker later, pitted; areole closed.

Phenology

Flowers Jan.

Habitat

Grows in skeletal soil on rocky ridges in disturbed areas and Eucalyptus woodland.

Specimens

Qld: 2 km N of the Kelly St George R. on the Peninsula Development Rd, J.R.Clarkson 5120 (BRI, CANB, DNA, K, MEL, MO, NSW, PERTH, PR, QRS); 33 km WNW of Mount Carbine towards Cooktown, R.G.Coveny 6969 & P.Hind (BRI, CANB, K, MEL, NSW, US).

Notes

Acacia guymeri belongs to a small group of species native to N Qld, viz. A whitei and A. jackesiana. All have comparatively large flowers which are mostly 5-merous but sometimes 4- or 6-merous, with very prominent midribs in the buds, prominently ribbed sepals and rather flattened, thick textured pods with prominent, pale, raised margins. Flat phyllode forms of A jackesiana are very similar to A. guymeri.

Narrow, linear phyllode forms of A. whitei resemble A. guymeri but are most readily distinguished by their shorter peduncles and more densely flowered spikes. Flat phyllode forms of A. jackesiana also resemble A. guymeri but their phyllode nerves are more prominently raised (at least when dry) and their spikes are golden coloured. Acacia guymeri is also superficially similar to a linear phyllode variant of A. hyaloneura.

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

Edited by B.R.Maslin