Acacia attenuata Maiden & Blakely, Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland 38: 117; pl. 17, figs 1–7 (1927)
Slender shrub 3–4 m high; juvenile bipinnate leaves persistent for a long period. Branchlets glabrous. Phyllodes oblanceolate or narrowly oblong-elliptic, straight to shallowly curved, 10–14 cm long, 7–16 mm wide, much narrowed at base, obtuse-mucronulate, occasionally acute, thin, glabrous; midrib prominent and contiguous with abaxial margin near base; lateral nerves obscure; gland not prominent, 1–5 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences 6–14-headed racemes; raceme axes 2–8 cm long, glabrous; peduncles 7–8 mm long, glabrous; heads globular, 20–35-flowered, cream. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 1/2–3/4-united, normally densely tomentulose towards apices. Pods narrowly oblong, rounded over seeds along midline, to 10 cm long, 13–15 mm wide, firmly chartaceous to thinly coriaceous, blackish, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 6 mm long, dull, dark brown; funicle 3/4 encircling seed, light brown; aril clavate.
Confined to high rainfall coastal plains from Southport N to Maryborough, south-eastern Qld. Grows in heath or layered eucalypt open forest.
Acacia attenuata is a member of the ‘ Acacia microbotrya group’ related to A. rubida which has phyllodes that dry a reddish colour and glands 1–4 cm above the pulvinus, light golden flower-heads and narrower pods. Acacia latisepala , like A. attenuata , may flower in the juvenile state but it has golden flower-heads and a prominent gland 10–20 mm above the pulvinus.
Type of accepted name
Beerwah, Qld, Sept. 1922, C.T.White 1816 ; holo: NSW; iso: BRI.
Synonymy
Racosperma attenuatum (Maiden & Blakely) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 345 (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
Illustrations
J.H.Maiden & W.F.Blakely, loc. cit .; B.A.Lebler, Wildfl. SE Queensland 2: 47 (1981).
Representative collections
Qld: 6.5 km SW of Noosaville, June 1966, A.G.Harrold s.n . (BRI); 5 km S of Landsborough, 8 June 1978, M.Olsen & B.Lebler s.n. (BRI).
(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.
