Acacia maidenii F.Muell.
WATTLE
Acacias of Australia
Common Name
Maiden’s Wattle
Family
Fabaceae
Distribution
Occurs in Qld, N.S.W. and Vic. E of 148ºE, in coastal and subcoastal environments, from Proserpine in the north to Orbost in the south.
Description
Tree 5–20 m high. Bark smooth, fissured on older stems, grey or grey-brown. Branchlets with prominent lenticels, glabrous or sometimes sparsely appressed puberulous. New shoots glabrous or sparsely appressed puberulous, the hairs white or golden. Phyllodes very narrowly elliptic, elliptic or oblong-oblanceolate, falcate to subfalcate or sometimes ±straight, (7–) 10–20 cm long, (5–) 6–25 (–35) mm wide, chartaceous to thinly coriaceous, with 1–5 prominent longitudinal nerves; minor nerves numerous, longitudinally anastomosing; gland inconspicuous, (4–) 6–10 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences simple or sometime vestigial racemes; peduncles 1–4 mm long, ±appressed puberulous with hairs white or golden; receptacles hairy as on peduncles; spikes 2.5–6 cm long, somewhat loosely flowered, white to cream or pale yellow. Flowers mostly 4-merous; calyx 0.4–0.6 mm long, dissected to 1/4–1/3, densely pubescent; corolla 1.2–1.7 mm long, dissected to 1/2–2/3, glabrous; ovary densely pubescent. Pods variably twisted or curled into loose spirals, subterete, 5–14 cm long, 2.5–4 (–5) mm wide, coriaceous-crustaceous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong to broadly elliptic, 4–5.5 mm long, dark brown, slightly reddish; areole open; aril orange.
Phenology
Flowers mostly Jan.–June.
Habitat
Grows usually in more fertile soils, sometimes derived from basalt, often on the edges of littoral rainforest.
Specimens
Qld: 8 km NE of Murgon, R.G.Coveny 2084 (A, AD, BRI, K, MEL, NSW, US). N.S.W.: Burning Mtn, 3 km NNE of Wingen, c. 13 km SE of Murrurundi, J.Pickard & R.G.Coveny 1085 (C, K, NH, NSW, U). Vic.: W45 Reeve Rd, 2 km W of Orbost–Buchan road, 6.5 km W of Orbost P.O., S.J.Forbes 904 & D.Cameron (MEL, NSW).
Notes
A distinctive member of the ‘A. longifolia group’ recognized by its lenticellular branchlets, thin textured, often falcate phyllodes which are tapered at base, densely pubescent peduncles and receptacles, and irregularly coiled, hard textured pods. Related to A. floribunda.
Details of ecology, utilisation, etc of A. maidenii are given in J.W.Turnbull (ed.), Multipurpose Austral. Trees & Shrubs 158 (1986).
FOA Reference
Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia
Author
Edited by B.R.Maslin
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
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a mobile application:
URL: https://apps.lucidcentral.org/wattle/
© Copyright 2018. All rights reserved.