Common Name

Famine Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Known only from type locality, Splitters Ck, S of Wulgulmerang in East Gippsland, Vic. Currently known by a single small population on the Wombargo Ra. in the upper catchment of Little R., a tributary of the Snowy R. The population comprises small fragmented stands growing in close proximity.

Description

Erect shrub 0.3–0.6 (–1.2) m high, readily suckering. Branchlets not pruinose, glabrous. Phyllodes linear, straight, flat, 1.2–4.1 cm long, 0.8–2.2 mm wide, obliquely and excentrically mucronate, thin, grey-green, glabrous; midrib not prominent, lateral nerves absent; gland not prominent, 4–8 (–11.5) mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences (5–) 8–10-headed racemes; raceme axes (0.3–) 1–3 (–4) cm long; peduncles 1.5–4 mm long, glabrous; heads globular, 3–5 mm diam. (dry), 5–9-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united. Pods and seeds not seen.

Phenology

Flowers late Aug.–early Oct.

Habitat

Grows in dry open forest on high rocky ground in shallow soils derived from sediments.

Specimens

Vic.: Splitters Ck crossing, Limestone Ck Rd, 30 Apr. 1986, W.M.Molyneux & S.G.Forrester (MEL).

Notes

Most closely related to A. boormanii which differs in its taller stature, generally longer phyllodes and larger heads; see W.M.Molyneux & S.G. Forrester (Muelleria 26(1): 54, Table 1 (2008) for a detailed comparison of these two species. According to W.M.Molyneux & S.G. Forrester (Muelleria 26(1): 56 (2008) the nearest stands of A. boormanii to those of A. infecunda are on the Snowy R. some 20 km to the E where the latter occur, and at a much lower elevation.

A slow growing dwarf species that spreads by suckering and was treated as a dwarf variant of A. boormanii by B.R.Maslin in Fl. Australia 11A: 334 (2001). Acacia nanopravissima and A. tabula occur in the same area at Splitters Ck and were treated as dwarf variants of A. pravissima and A. buxifolia subsp. buxifolia in Fl. Australia 11A: 331 & 341 (2001) respectively.

FOA Reference

Flora of Australia Project

Author

B.R.Maslin