Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Restricted to the Isla Gorge area, Qld.

Description

Rounded shrub to c. 3 m high, glabrous, somewhat viscid; young shoots reddish. Phyllodes ascending to erect, sometimes patent, narrowly linear, shallowly curved to shallowly sigmoid, 6–10 cm long, usually 2–3 mm wide, l:w = 30-40, narrowed towards base, obtuse to acute, with slightly thickened mucro, green, with somewhat tuberculate margins; midrib usually evident; lateral nerves obscure and subparallel to midrib; gland linear, usually 0.5–1.5 mm long, 1.5–4 mm above pulvinus, with a smaller circular gland at base of mucro. Inflorescences simple, 1 per axil; peduncles 3–5 mm long, ebracteate at base; heads globular, 30–47 flowered, deep golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals c. 2/3-united. Pods narrowly oblong to linear, convex over seeds, to 8 cm long, 5–7 mm wide, firmly chartaceous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic to ovate, 2.5–3.5 mm long; funicle folded below the oblique aril.

Habitat

Grows in shallow soil over sandstone in eucalypt woodland.

Specimens

Qld: Isla Gorge, L.Pedley 2792 (BRI, NSW); Isla Gorge Lookout, K.A.Williams 77158 (BRI).

Notes

A member of the ‘A. johnsonii group’, distinguished from its closest relatives, A. eremophiloides, A. gnidium and A. ixodes by its very long phyllodes. Acacia islana, another member of the ‘A. johnsonii group’ restricted to Isla Gorge, is recognised by its short, terete to subterete phyllodes. Acacia hockingsii resembles A. sabulosa which is distinguished by its longer peduncles, heads with more flowers and broader pods enclosing transverse seeds.

A variant having unusually narrow phyllodes (c. 1 mm wide) with an indistinct midrib and a minute, ±circular basal gland also occurs at the Isla Gorge Lookout (e.g. M.E.Ballingall 2135, PERTH).

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 & J.Rogers

B.R.Maslin