Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Occurs on the Blackdown Tableland and adjacent, lower land on W side, Qld.

Description

Shrub or tree to 6 m high; d.b.h. 15–23 cm; canopy sparse. Bark smooth, grey-green. Branchlets dark purplish red, bluish or purple, sometimes pruinose, glabrous; ridges inconspicuous. Young foliage-tips cream-coloured. Leaves subcoriaceous, dark green; petiole above pulvinus (0.8–) 1.2–2.3 cm long, ±flattened vertically, with 1 or 2 (–3) glands; rachis 4–11 cm long, ±flattened vertically, with an orbicular or oblong glabrous or slightly pubescent gland at base of all or most pairs of pinnae, with 1 or 2 (–4) sometimes contiguous interjugary glands between some or all pairs of pinnae; pinnae 8–18 pairs, 2–6 (–8) cm long, with basal pair(s) often caducous leaving inconspicuous scars; pinnules 26–92 pairs, oblong to cultrate, 1.5–4 mm long, 0.4–0.6 (–0.8) mm wide, ±ciliolate otherwise glabrous, broadly rounded to subacute apically. Inflorescences in axillary racemes, or terminal or axillary false-panicles; peduncles 3–5 (–7) mm long. Heads globular, 14–20-flowered, cream-coloured or pale yellow. Pods straight-sided to slightly or irregularly more deeply constricted between seeds, 2.5–11 cm long, 8–12 mm wide, coriaceous, dark red-brown or blue-black, sometimes pruinose, glabrous.

Phenology

Flowers Apr.–Aug.; fruits Aug., Sept., Dec.

Habitat

Grows on sandstone plateaux, in open forest.

Specimens

Qld: Rockland Spring, C.H.Gittins s.n. (NSW74765 & 100520); Blackdown Tableland, 32 km SE of Blackwater, R.J.Henderson 685 & 1028, S.B.Andrews & P.Sharpe (BRI, NSW); Blackdown Tableland, c. 18 miles [29 km] SW of Dingo, L.A.S.Johnson s.n. (NSW100520); Blackdown Tableland Natl Park, near Dingo, M.H.Simmons 2685 & J.G.Simmons (NSW).

Notes

Closely related to Acacia filicifolia which also has fern-like leaves, fine, narrow, closely spaced pinnules, numerous interjugary glands on the rachises, and pruinose, glabrous, broad, rather flat pods. It differs from A. filicifolia in being mostly glabrous, having shorter pinnules and cream-coloured or pale yellow inflorescences. Also allied to A. olsenii.

FOA Reference

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

Author

Minor edits by J.Reid

M.D.Tindale, P.G.Kodela