Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs in W.A. in the Kimberley region, from Kalumburu S to Barnett Stn, Gibb R. road, and in N.T. as far N as Blunder Bay, Victoria R., from Keep River Natl Park E to Jasper Gorge.

Description

Shrub to 2 m high, erect, glabrous, resinous. Bark smooth, fissured at base, grey. Branchlets angular or ±flattened towards apices, brown or red-brown, with ±conspicuous lenticels; ridges resin-crenulated. Phyllodes narrowly elliptic to broadly elliptic or rarely oblanceolate, oblique, sigmoid, straight or curved, (1.2–) 2–5 (–6) cm long, (6–) 8–20 mm wide, subcoriaceous or coriaceous, stiff, scurfy, with conspicuous stomata; apices of young phyllodes often dilated and resinous; apical mucro thick, knob-like and oblique; lamina finely longitudinally wrinkled, with 3 (or 4) longitudinal semiprominent nerves often not reaching apex; minor parallel nerves obscure, not anastomosing; gland basal, prominent. Peduncles 7–22 (–30) mm long, (0.6–) 1–1.2 mm diam. Heads 7–12 mm diam., 40–60-flowered, golden; bracteoles broadly capitate, sometimes with filiform apex; buds compactly arranged, later spreading. Flowers 5-merous; calyx 1–1.5 mm long, ±truncate, thin, glabrous, with pale midribs; corolla 2–3.5 mm long, c. twice as long as calyx, dissected by 1/2, glabrous; petals 0.5–0.6 mm long, with acute to acuminate, thickened apices and prominent midribs. Pods erect, oblanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, straight-sided, 2.5–6.2 cm long, 5.5–10 mm wide, thinly woody, brown or tan, with strongly oblique nerves, scurfy, opening elastically from an obtuse hooked apex; margins and seed-partitions ±prominent. Seeds oblique, elliptic or narrowly elliptic, 4–6.5 mm long, brown to blackish brown; pleurogram with pale halo; funicle-aril narrowly turbinate.

Phenology

Flowers Mar.–Oct.

Habitat

Grows in sandy, gravelly soils, on sandstone or quartzite, on rocky hills, flats or in gorges near creeks, mostly in savannah woodland or savannah-tall grassland, often with spinifex.

Specimens

W.A.: Kalumburu Mission, J.R.Maconochie 1263 (BRI, DNA, NSW, PERTH); 12.8 km SW of Kununurra from Carlton Stn, M.D.Tindale 10136, P.Munns & R.Turley (BRI, CANB, DNA, K, MEL, MO, NSW, PERTH). N.T.: Ningbing area, C.Done 416 (DNA, PERTH); Keep R. Natl Park, C.R.Dunlop 5761 (DNA, PERTH).

Notes

This species was treated as Acacia sp. F in Fl. Australia 11A: 230 (2001) and as A. newmanii (ms) in WATTLE Acacias of Australia CD-ROM (2001). In the northern portion of its range in both W.A. and N.T. the phyllodes tend to be longer (2–5 cm), broader (10–15 mm) and non-sigmoid, and the more mature buds slightly spreading, whereas in the southern portion of its range the phyllodes are mostly shorter (1.2–2 cm), narrower (3–8 mm) and sigmoid, and the buds more compact. The flowers are identical across the range of the species. Acacia sp. Kununurra (G.Lullfitz 6195) is a member of the ‘A. stigmatophylla group’ and is most closely related to A. translucens, as well as having affinities to A. stellaticeps, A. nuperrima and A. setulifera.

FOA Reference

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

Author

Revised 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