Acacia argyraea Tindale, Contr. New South Wales Natl Herb . 4: 141 (1970)
Silvery-sericeous shrub or tree to 3 m high. Bark smooth, grey to brown. Branchlets 2- or 3-angled particularly towards apex, bearing dense silky hairs. Phyllodes narrowly elliptic to elliptic, flat, subfalcate, 4–8 cm long, 15–35 mm wide, coriaceous, with 3–6 prominent longitudinal veins tending to become confluent with ventral margin proximally, the minor veins obscure with few anastomoses; gland 1, basal, reniform, tomentose. Spikes solitary, 1–2.5 cm long, pale yellow. Flowers 5-merous; calyx 1–1.5 mm long, dissected to 3/5, the lobes densely pubescent; corolla 1.5–2 mm long, cut to 1/2–3/4, pubescent; ovary densely villous. Pods linear-oblanceolate, flat, 6–8.5 cm long, woody, silvery-velvety to sericeous, opening elastically from apex. Seeds oblique, oblong-elliptic, 4–6.5 mm long, brown; funicle-aril turbinate.
Occurs in tropical Australia in the N.T. and W.A., N of 20S, apparently rare in north-western Qld, fide L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 167 (1978). Gregarious, often in shale soils, but also found in laterites and more sandy soils. Flowers July & Aug.
It differs from A. limbata and A. lazaridis in the very dense, silvery indumentum on the plants.
Type of accepted name
Nicholson Stn, W.A., July 1967, C.H.Gittins 1393 ; holo: NSW; iso: BRI, K.
Synonymy
Racosperma argyraeum (Tindale) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 344 (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
Illustration
M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 2: 275 (1988).
Representative collections
W.A.: 5 miles [8 km] SSE of Glenroy Meatworks, Kimberleys, M.Lazarides 6435 (CANB, NSW); 95.7 km S of Durham R., near Telegraph Ck, on Great Northern Hwy, M.D.Tindale 10145 , P.Munns & R.Turley (AD, B, BRI, CANB, DNA, K, MEL, MO, NSW, NY). N.T.: 29 miles [46.7 km] S of Borroloola Junction towards Anthony Lagoon, N.M.Henry 173 (NSW, NT); c. 40 miles [65 km] NE of Creswell Stn, R.A.Perry 1679 (CANB, NSW). Qld: between Turn-off Lagoon and Woologorang, Jensen 31 (?BRI), fide L.Pedley, loc. cit .
(NSW)
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.
