Common Name

Little Harsh Acacia, Rough-leaved Acacia, Rough Hairy Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Disjunct; occuring in the Sydney region (N.S.W.) and also the N.S.W./Qld border area from N of Coffs Harbour inland to Torrington and N to Crows Nest (Qld), E to Brisbane.

Description

Spreading open shrub to 2 m high. Branchlets scabrous, tuberculate with minute hairs commonly at apex of tubercules. Phyllodes asymmetric, narrowly oblong-elliptic, sometimes lanceolate, normally shallowly incurved, 10–30 mm long, 3–10 mm wide, l:w = 3–7, often acute, glabrous to subglabrous; midrib prominent; lateral nerves forming an obscure open reticulum, with peg-like tubercles on abaxial (sometimes also adaxial) margin; gland 3–5 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences simple, 1 per axil; peduncles (4–) 5–12 mm long, hispidulous to subglabrous; heads globular, 10–20-flowered, pale yellow to white. Flowers 5-merous; sepals c. 3/4-united, with acute lobes. Pods oblong to narrowly oblong, ±elliptic when 1-seeded, to 4.5 cm long, (6–) 7.5–10.5 mm wide, 1–3-seeded, thickly coriaceous to subwoody, blackish, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, 7.5–8.5 mm long, c. 4.5 mm wide, turgid; funicle-aril linear-clavate, lying along margin of seed.

Habitat

Grows in shallow soil over sandstone or granite, in open Eucalyptus forest.

Specimens

Qld: 10.5 km N of Helidon, M.E.Ballingall 2107 (PERTH); hills near Plunkett, S of Brisbane, C.E.Hubbard 3803 (BRI). N.S.W.: Rocky Ck, c. 3.2 km N of Coaldale–Grafton road, R.Coveny 4967 (NSW, PERTH); Vale L.O., S of Kurrajong Heights, Lower Grose Valley, T.Tame 1933 (PERTH).

Notes

Seemingly related to A. purpureopetala.

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

B.R.Maslin