Acacia adoxa Pedley, Contr. Queensland Herb . 11: 6 (1972)
Procumbent to spreading shrub to 0.7 m high. Stems tomentose or pilose with +retrorse or erect hairs, or glabrous. Stipules linear, 0.8–1.2 mm long. Phyllodes 6–10 per whorl, ascending to erect, flattened, straight or slightly recurved, commonly 2–5 mm long, with or without oblique mucro to 0.2 mm long, pubescent or pilose to glabrous, with an impressed adaxial nerve and an obscure abaxial nerve. Peduncles 6–15 mm long, pubescent to glabrous. Heads commonly 25–35-flowered. Flowers 5- or 6-merous; calyx 0.5–0.8 mm long, hispid, pilose or glabrous, the lobes linear, slightly incurved, 0.3–0.4 mm long and thick; corolla lobes striate, hispid, pilose or glabrous. Pods sessile, 25–60 mm long, 6–7 mm wide, glabrous, viscid; margins thickened. Seeds transverse or slightly oblique, oblong, 4 mm long; pleurogram open.
Widespread in north-western and northern W.A. and in central-western N.T. There are 2 varieties.
Stems tomentose; phyllodes pubescent; calyx and corolla lobes hispid
var. adoxa
Stems, phyllodes and flowers glabrous to pilose
var. subglabra
Acacia adoxa Pedley var. adoxa
Stems velvety-tomentose with white, erect or slightly retrorse hairs. Phyllodes pubescent with slightly curved hairs. Bracteoles setose in upper half. Calyx lobes and corolla lobes hispid with hairs 0.2–0.4 mm long.
Widespread especially from the Barlee Ra. through the Pilbara to the southern Kimberley, W.A., with scattered occurrences in the Great Sandy Desert and an isolated record near Wyndham; also in arid western N.T. Grows in sand (commonly lateritic) and in shallow rocky soil.
The variety is sometimes confused with A. lycopodiifolia which it resembles in indumentum and habit. The arrangement of the seeds in the pod, the lack of setae on the phyllodes, and the fewer phyllodes per whorl distinguish the two taxa. A specimen labelled Port Darwin, [N.T.], A.Forrest (MEL) apparently has an incorrect locality. A collection from Abydos–Woodstock Reserve, W.A., K.L.Tinley 3274 (PERTH) has a very short indumentum. Sterile specimens often cannot be distinguished with certainty from A. chippendalei . See also A. orthotricha .
Field observations by E.Hall suggest that A. adoxa var. adoxa and A. spondylophylla may occasionally hybridise in the Pilbara region (e.g. E.Hall 1 , PERTH).
Type of accepted name
27 miles [c. 43 km] S of Wave Hill Stn, N.T., 11 July 1956, G.M.Chippendale 2191 ; holo: BRI; iso: CANB, K n.v. , MEL, NT, PERTH.
Illustration
B.R.Maslin in J.P.Jessop (ed.), Fl. Centr. Australia 117, fig. 157E (1981).
Representative collections
W.A.: 69 km W of Margaret R. between Halls Ck and Fitzroy Crossing, A.C.Beauglehole 11139 (PERTH); base of Mt House, W.V.Fitzgerald 972 (NSW, PERTH); South Barlee Ra, Sept. 1959, A.Robinson (PERTH). N.T.: 59 km NE of Tanami, G.M.Chippendale NT5647 (BRI, CANB, MEL, NT, PERTH); Vaughan Springs, R.E.Winkworth 413 (CANB, MEL).
Acacia adoxa var. subglabra Pedley, Contr. Queensland Herb. 11: 7 (1972)
Stems glabrous to pilose. Phyllodes and bracteoles glabrous or pilose. Calyx lobes and corolla lobes glabrous or with few hairs.
Occurs mainly in the south-western Kimberley region, W.A., between Broome and Fitzroy Crossing, with records from the Edgar Ra., Wood Is. in the Bonaparte Archipelago and the De Grey R. Grows on dunes and in sandy loam in shrubland and open woodland.
Differs from var. adoxa only in the sparser indumentum on all parts of the plant but has a distinctive appearance. Has been confused with A. asperulacea , but the two are not particularly closely related. Field observations by K.F.Kenneally suggest that A. adoxa var. subglabra and A. hippuroides may occasionally hybridise on the Dampier Penin., N of Broome (e.g. K.F.Kenneally 9522 , PERTH) and NE of Derby, W.A. ( A.C.Beauglehole 53684 , BRI, PERTH).
Type of accepted name
De Grey Stn, W.A., July 1941, N.T.Burbidge 1609 ; holo: PERTH.
Illustration
L.Pedley, op.cit . 3, Fig. 1g.
Representative collections
W.A.: Broome, W.V.Fitzgerald 102 (PERTH); Edgar Ra., K.F.Kenneally 5673 (PERTH); 9 km NW of Camballin, J.B.Martin 101 (PERTH); Sisters Plateau, c. 100 km SE of Derby, B.R.Maslin 2672 (CANB, PERTH); Great Northern Hwy, 32 km from Broome, I.Olsen 504 (CANB, NSW).
(ASG)
The information presented here originally appeared on the WATTLE CD-ROM which was jointly published by the Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra, and the Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth; it was produced by CSIRO Publishing from where it is available for purchase. The WATTLE custodians are thanked for allowing us to post this information here.
