Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs in south-eastern Qld where it is restricted to the Binjour Plateau near Gayndah.

Description

Heavily foliaged, much branched shrubs to 2 m high, resinous (especially new shoots). Branchlets ribbed at extremities, hirsutellous to hispidulous with short, straight, patent hairs 0.1–0.2 mm long. Phyllodes somewhat crowded, patent to erect, linear, 20–43 mm long, 1–1.8 (–2.1) mm wide, straight or shallowly to moderately incurved, flat, excentrically mucronulate and sometimes subuncinate, glabrous or sometimes with sparse, patent hairs especially towards the base; midrib normally yellowish and somewhat evident, longitudinally trending, sparsely anastomosing secondary nerves often present; gland minute, 0–1 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences simple, single in upper axils; peduncles 6–8 mm long, resinous, glabrous or hairs similar to branchlets, ebracteate at base; heads globular, 20–35-flowered, slightly resinous. Flowers 5-merous; calyx c. ½ united. Pods linear, raised over seeds, to c. 40 mm long, 2.5–3.5 mm wide, rather chartaceous, dark red-brown. Seeds longitudinal, 3.7–4.5 mm long, 1.6–2 mm wide; aril cream.

Habitat

Grows on red loamy soil in eucalypt open-forest or in heath.

Specimens

Qld: Mundauran Pocket, Gurgeena Plateau, P.I.Forster PIF6174 (BRI, PERTH); Gurgeena Quarry, J.G.Simmons & M.H.Simmons 2017 (BRI).

Notes

Acacia rubricola is a member of the ‘A. johnsonii group’. It is closely related to the more westerly distributed A. johnsonii and duplicates have been distributed under that name. Acacia johnsonii differs most obviously in having often shorter, less resinous phyllodes with the midrib not yellowish, normally generally shorter peduncles and branchlets with slightly longer hairs. Contrary to protologue there appears to be no gland present at apex of phyllode adjacent to the mucro.

FOA Reference

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

Author

B.R.Maslin