Acacia affin. microbotrya
Somewhat open shrub 1–4 m high. Branchlets thick, angled at extremities, pruinose, glabrous. Phyllodes on obvious stem-projections, lower edge often continuous and forming very narrow wings with branchlets, elliptic to obovate, 6–11 cm long, 3–7 cm wide, oblique at base, undulate, obtuse to subacute, coriaceous, glaucous, glabrous, 1-nerved per face, finely penninerved; gland 2–6 cm above pulvinus. Inflorescences racemose; raceme axes 3–8 (–15) cm long, appressed-puberulous with golden hairs to glabrous; peduncles 3–7 mm long, with indumentum as on raceme axes; heads obloid to globular, 35–55-flowered, golden; bracteoles golden-fimbriolate. Flowers 5-merous; calyx gamosepalous. Pods narrowly oblong, rounded over seeds, to 14 cm long but often shorter, c. 1 cm wide, firmly chartaceous, pruinose, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong to elliptic, 5–6 mm long, slightly shiny, black; funicle encircling seed in single or double fold, dark red-brown; aril clavate.
Known from only a single population NW of Dandaragan, W.A. Gazetted a rare species in W.A. It grows in brown gravelly loam on the side of a laterite breakaway in Eucalyptus low woodland.
As described above this is a very distinctive member of the ‘ Acacia microbotrya group’ on account of its thick, pruinose branchlets, short, broad, glaucous phyllodes (which have the general appearance of being over-sized forms of A. meissneri or A. merrickae ), long racemes and flat, pruinose pods which are scarcely constricted between the seeds. It is problably worthy of species rank, however, field observations suggest that it grades into A. microbotrya and detailed studies are required to clarify this relationship before the species is formally described.
Representative collections
W.A.: NW of Dandaragan [precise localities withheld for conservation reasons], S.D.Hopper 2378 (PERTH), B.R.Maslin 6116 (PERTH) and A.Popplewell s.n. (PERTH00720577).
(BRM)
In Fl. Australia this taxon is called Acacia sp . B.
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.
