Acacia cretacea Maslin & Whibley, Nuytsia 6: 27; 28, fig. 3 (1987)
Spindly, straggly shrub or tree to c. 4 m high. Branchlets angled at extremities, pruinose, glabrous. Phyllodes rather crowded, on pronounced stem-projections, ascending to erect, narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, straight, 7–10 cm long, 9–18 mm wide, occasionally wider, obtuse, thin to coriaceous, grey-green, glaucous when young, glabrous, 1-nerved per face, finely penninerved; gland not prominent, 0–4 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences racemose; raceme axes 2–4 cm long, pruinose, glabrous; peduncles 4–11 mm long, pruinose, glabrous; heads globular, 4–5 mm diam., densely 35–45-flowered, lemon yellow to golden; bracteoles glabrous. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 3/4-united. Pods linear, to 9 cm long, 5–6 mm wide, firmly chartaceous to thinly coriaceous, pruinose (young), glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, 5–7 mm long, slightly shiny, black; funicle 1/2 to wholly encircling seed in a single fold, reddish; aril clavate.
Restricted to N of Cowell, north-eastern Eyre Penin., S.A. Grows in deep red sand, in gently undulating country with low sand ridges, in low shrubland and mallee scrub.
Distinguished from other members of the ‘ A. microbotrya group’ occurring on the Eyre Penin. by its pruinose branchlets, inflorescences and pods, see B.R.Maslin & D.J.E.Whibley, loc. cit. , for discussion. The more southerly distributed A. gillii has a similar habit to that of A. cretacea . Related also to A. toondulya .
A rare species considered endangered, fide B.R.Maslin & D.J.E.Whibley, loc.cit.
Type of accepted name
NE of Coolanie, Eyre Penin., S.A., 19 Oct. 1983, J.D.Briggs 1391 ; holo: PERTH; iso: AD, CANB, K.
Illustrations
B.R.Maslin & D.J.E.Whibley, loc. cit .; D.J.E.Whibley & D.E.Symon, Acacias S. Australia 2nd edn, 169 (1992).
Representative collection
S.A.: near Cowell, M.Simmons 1722 (CANB, K, 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.
