Common Name

Golden-top Wattle, Crowned Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs on the western slopes and plains of N.S.W. from Cuttabri S to Dubbo and W to near Mt Hope, common in the Pilliga Scrub. Although this species (as A. tindaleae) was regarded as occurring in Qld it is now no longer considered as occurring in that State (L.Pedley, pers. comm., May 2011).

Description

Spreading, compact shrub to 2 m high, allied to A. conferta but differing chiefly in the following ways: Branchlets densely villous with ±appressed hairs. Phyllodes with persistent, rather long fine weak ±appressed hairs which impart a silvery grey appearance; gland at distal end of pulvinus. Peduncle indumentum dense and ±appressed, sometimes glabrous in fruit; heads larger than in A. conferta, 27–38-flowered. Sepals 2/3–3/4-united; petals 2–2.2 mm long. Pods normally to 4 cm long, 8–10 mm wide; stipe 1–2 mm long.

Habitat

Acacia mariae grows on sand in Eucalyptus-Callitris dry sclerophyll forest, woodland and mallee communities.

Specimens

N.S.W.: 15 km SW of Eumungerie on the Narromine road, R.Coveny 12093 & P. Hind (NSW, PERTH); 12.2 km from junction on Baradine-Pilliga road, on the ‘Forest Rd’ to Narrabri, N.Hall H78/18 (NSW, PERTH).

Notes

B.R.Maslin, Fl. Australia 11A: 347 (2001), alluded to issues relating to A. tindaleae and its relationship to A. conferta. L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 7: 348 (2006), subsequently treated A. tindaleae as conspecific with A. conferta and described a new species, A. mariae, to accommodate most plants formerly called A. tindaleae. The phyllodes of A. mariae may superficially resemble some forms of A. lineata.

FOA Reference

Flora of Australia Project

Author

Revised by B.R.Maslin