Acacia aestivalis E.Pritz., in L.Diels & E.Pritzel, Bot. Jahrb. Syst . 35: 300; 301, fig. 34 (1904)
Bushy shrub or tree to c. 3 m high. Branchlets glabrous; cuticle often whitish. Phyllodes linear to narrowly oblanceolate, straight, mostly 6–11 cm long and 2.5–7 mm wide, obtuse to acute, sometimes uncinate, glabrous, sometimes with whitish cuticle; midrib and lateral nerves not prominent; glands 1 or 2, lowermost 1–3.5 cm above pulvinus. Inflorescences 5–11-headed racemes; raceme axes 10–50 mm long, sparsely to densely appressed-puberulous with golden hairs, often glabrous in fruit; peduncles 2.5–5 mm long, with indumentum as on raceme axes; heads globular, 3.5–4 mm diam., 15–25-flowered, golden; bracteole laminae golden-fimbriolate. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united almost to apex in bud, often separating to base at anthesis. Pods to 17 cm long, 10–22 mm wide, firmly chartaceous to thinly coriaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 7–9 mm long, dull, dark brown; funicle 1/3–1/2 encircling seed, red-brown, brittle, readily detaching from aril.
Occurs from near Mingenew SE to Corrigin and E to Bullfinch, W.A. Grows in clay and loam, often in low-lying areas, frequently in Eucalyptus salmonophloia woodland; often forming dense pure stands in disturbed sites.
A variant from near Ravensthorpe is seemingly intermediate between A. aestivalis and A. harveyi (e.g. B.R.Maslin 3923 , PERTH). Some plants from Kununoppin- Bullfinch area with phyllodes 2.5–4 mm wide are especially difficult to distinguish from A. chrysella in the absence of pods.
One of the ‘ A. microbotrya group’ near A. chrysella which has narrower pods, smaller seeds and phyllodes that are often narrower and incurved; also close to A. harveyi which has much shorter, narrower pods. Phyllodes of A. aestivalis may resemble those of A. anthochaera .
Type of accepted name
Near Moora, W.A., L.Diels 5728 ; syn: n.v .; near Watheroo, W.A., L.Diels 2118 ; syn: n.v.
Synonymy
Acacia harveyi Benth., Fl. Austral. 2: 368 (1864) p.p. , as to Drummond 4: 130 (K, MEL, PERTH), not as to lectotype.
Illustrations
E.G.Pritzel, loc. cit. ; F. von Mueller, Iconogr. Austral. Acacia dec. 5 [pl. 8] (1887), fruiting specimen, as A. harveyi .
Representative collections
W.A.: 18.5 km S of Konnongarring, B.R.Maslin 1632 (MEL, NSW, PERTH); 42.6 km S of Dalwallinu on the hwy, M.D.Tindale 1361 (K, NSW, PERTH); 21 km W of Bullfinch, P.G.Wilson 6447 (K, L, MEL, NSW, PERTH).
(BRM)
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.
