WATTLE

Acacias of Australia

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Acacia palustris Luehm.

Common Name

Needlewood

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Discontinuous, occurring on Pingandy Stn (Ashburton R.) and from Errabiddy Stn (near Gascoyne R.) S to Murgoo Stn (Murchison R.), north-western W.A.

Description

Shrub or tree 2–4 m high, somewhat gnarled. Branchlets glabrous. Phyllodes vertically deflexed, straight, terete, 9–22 cm long, 1–1.5 mm diam., long-tapering acuminate, pungent, rigid, glabrous, with ±16 closely parallel, ±raised nerves. Inflorescences simple, 2 per axil; peduncles 3–6 mm long, glabrous; spikes 7–10 mm long, 4–5 mm diam., densely flowered. Flowers 4-merous; sepals free. Pods linear, strongly raised over and ±constricted between seeds, slightly curved, to 16.5 cm long, 7.5–8 mm wide, thin-crustaceous, irregularly longitudinally striate, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, broadly elliptic, 6.5–7.5 mm long, dull, dark brown to black; aril minute.

Habitat

Usually grows on loamy alluvial plains in shrubland, often with mulga group (Acacia aneura and its allies).

Specimens

W.A.: 3 km ESE of Murgoo Stn HS, R.J.Cranfield 5230 (PERTH); Meka Stn, A.A.Mitchell 893 (K, MEL, PERTH); 20 km S of Errabiddy HS, A.A.Mitchell 1557 (PERTH); Pingandy Stn, 1972, M.Scott (PERTH).

Notes

Very distinctive on account of its vertically deflexed, terete phyllodes. Relationships uncertain.

FOA Reference

Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia

Author

R.S.Cowan

Minor edits by B.R.Maslin