Acacia ausfeldii Regel, Index Sem. Hort. Petrop . 106 (1867)
Ausfeld’s Wattle , Whipstick Cinnamon Wattle
Somewhat viscid shrub or tree 2–4 m high. Branchlets prominently resin-ribbed, glabrous. Phyllodes commonly patent, linear-oblong to narrowly elliptic, straight to shallowly incurved, 2–6 cm long, 2–6 mm wide, narrowed at base, obtuse to subacute, with mucro normally excentric, rather obviously resinous-punctate, glabrous, 1-nerved per face; lateral nerves obscure or absent; gland 0–3 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences usually simple and 2 per axil; peduncles often patent, 4–9 mm long, somewhat stout, usually pubescent-tomentose and bracteate at base; heads globular to slightly obloid, 30–45-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united. Pods linear, raised over seeds, 3–9 cm long, 2.5–3 mm wide, firmly chartaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, 3–4 mm long, shiny, dark brown; aril terminal.
Disjunct in south-eastern Australia, occurring in the Dubbo- Cassilis- Mudgee area, N.S.W., where it grows in alluvial gullies, on flats or low hills, and the Inglewood- Nagambie area N to Torrumbarry, Vic., where it grows in dry forest and mallee communities.
In general, the N.S.W. plants differ from those in Vic. in having slightly broader phyllodes with a few, obscure, impressed lateral nerves (laterals normally absent in Vic.).
A member of the A. verniciflua complex and especially similar to some forms of A. leprosa ; however, A. ausfeldii is recognised by its glabrous, resin-ribbed branchlets, normally tomentose-pubescent peduncles (hairs dense, normally spreading, subcrisped and somewhat matted), generally more flowers in the heads and slightly narrower pods.
Putative hybrids between A. ausfeldii and A. paradoxa (syn. A. armata ) in the Bendigo- Heathcote district, Vic., are noted by A.B.Court, in J.H.Willis, Handb. Pl. Victoria 2: 216 (1973).
Type of accepted name
Cultivated at hort. bot. Petropolitano from seed collected by J.G.Ausfeld from near Bendigo, Vic.; LE n.v.
Illustrations
L.F.Costermans, Native Trees & Shrubs SE Australia 311 (1981); T.Tame, Acacias SE Australia 107, fig. 105, pl. 105 (1992).
Representative collections
N.S.W.: 22 km from Mudgee towards Cassilis, I.B.Armitage 990 (PERTH). Vic.: Bendigo Whipstick, c. 10 km due NNW of Bendigo township, B.R.Maslin 5845 (MEL, PERTH); near Costerfield on the Nagambie- Heathcote road, I.B.Muir 2160 (MEL).
(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.
