Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Endemic in the Stirling Ra. Natl Park, c. 80 km N of Albany, south-western W.A.

Description

Aromatic glabrous shrub or tree usually 3–10 m high. Branchlets finely ribbed, resinous when young. Phyllodes linear to linear-elliptic, straight to ±shallowly incurved, (6–) 9–15 (–20) cm long, 3–8 mm wide, acute, sometimes subuncinate, thinly coriaceous, 2- or sometimes 3‑nerved per face with the central nerve the most pronounced, with secondary nerves sparingly longitudinally anastomosing; gland 0–1 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences 2‑headed racemes; raceme axes (1–) 2–6 (–8) mm long, resinous, normally terminated by a dormant bud; peduncles 8–15 mm long, glabrous, resinous; heads globular, 7–12 mm diam., 24–27-flowered, white to cream. Flowers 4-merous, resinous; sepals 3/4-united, with lobes triangular. Pods linear, to 11 cm long, 5–5.5 mm wide, thinly coriaceous-crustaceous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, 5.5–6 mm long, shiny, dark brown; aril white.

Habitat

Grows along watercourses in Jarrah–Marri or Wandoo forest or woodland, and also at summit of some high peaks in sheltered sites.

Specimens

W.A.: 21 km along Stirling Ra. Scenic Drive from Red Gum Pass, R.J.Cumming 1000 (MEL, PERTH); Mt Trio car park, G.J.Keighery 3382 (PERTH); near Mt Hassell, B.R.Maslin 4013 (PERTH).

Notes

Plants from higher altitudes have short phyllodes (6–8 cm long) and may be only 1.5 m high.

The species seems not to be closely related to any other in W.A. except possibly A. spongolitica; it sometimes superficially resembles A. cyclops but the relationship is not close. It seems to have some affinities with the eastern Australian species A. baeuerlenii, A. subporosa and A. cognata and, as noted by M.D.Tindale & P.G.Kodela, Austral. Syst. Bot. 4: 579 (1991), is also similar to A. tessellata. Acacia veronica differs from all the above-mentioned species, except A. spongolitica, by its 4-merous flowers.

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

B.R.Maslin