Acacia araneosa Whibley, Contr. Herb. Austral. 14: 1, figs 1–4 (1976)
Spidery Wattle , Balcanoona Wattle
Wispy tree 3–8 m high. Branchlets slender, flexuose, red-brown, glabrous. Phyllodes distant, pendulous, thickly filiform, usually terete to subterete or quadrangular, 18–35 cm long, sometimes to 69 cm, usually 1–2 mm wide, delicately narrowed at apex, glabrous, sometimes scurfy, obscurely 4-nerved in all; pulvinus 2–4 mm long. Inflorescences racemose; raceme axes 3.5–9.5 cm long, glabrous; peduncles 7–10 mm long, glabrous; heads globular, 50–70-flowered, yellow; bracteoles peltate, golden-fimbriolate. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united almost to their apices. Pods linear, somewhat constricted between seeds, to 14.5 cm long, 4–6 mm wide, firmly chartaceous to thinly coriaceous-crustaceous, pruinose, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic, c. 4.5 mm long, dull to slightly shiny, black; funicle 3/4 encircling seed in a single fold, red-brown; aril clavate.
Restricted from near Balcanoona to Arkaroola, North Flinders Ra., S.A. Grows in calcareous soil on hills and ridges associated with Eucalyptus gillii and/or Triodia irritans .
A member of the ‘ Acacia microbotrya group’ characterised by a distinctive cobwebby habit and very long, narrow phyllodes. These features are similar to those of A. aphanoclada , a W.A. member of the unrelated ‘ A. victoriae group’.
A putative hybrid with A. rivalis occurs within the main population of A. araneosa near the type locality; it is characterised by flat phyllodes 1–3 mm wide (e.g. D.J.E.Whibley 2173 , PERTH).
Type of accepted name
Balcanoona, near Nudlamutana Well, S.A., 26 Oct. 1967, Hj.Eichler 19652 ; holo: AD; iso: BRI n.v ., CANB, MEL n.v.
Illustrations
D.J.E.Whibley & D.E.Symon, Acacias S. Australia 2nd edn, 121 & 123 (1992).
Representative collection
S.A.: Nudlamutana Well, c. 15 km NNE of Balcanoona, D.J.E.Whibley 3888 (AD, 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.
