Acacia dempsteri F.Muell., Fragm . 11: 65 (1879)
Straggly shrub or tree to c. 3 m high. Branchlets pruinose, glabrous. Stipules spinose, 5–12 mm long. Phyllodes lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, often slightly asymmetric, straight to shallowly curved or shallowly sigmoid, 3–6 cm long, 4–10 mm wide, excentrically mucronulate (mucro less than 1 mm long and sometimes pungent), thinly coriaceous, green to grey-green, glabrous; midrib rather prominent; lateral nerves obscure. Inflorescences initiated synchronously with phyllodes on new shoots; racemes few and less than 1 cm long; peduncles 1 or 2 per axil, 15–25 mm long, glabrous, with a small caducous bract near or above the middle; heads globular, large, c. 1 cm diam. when dry, densely 40–50-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free, narrowly spathulate. Pods narrowly oblong, raised over seeds, to 5 cm long, 8–10 mm wide, firmly chartaceous, dark brown, glabrous. Seeds transverse, oblong-elliptic, 3–4 mm long, shiny, dark brown except yellow at centre; aril once or twice folded.
Scattered from near Kambalda S to Gilmore Rocks and E to Breeborinia Rock, c. 100 km S of Balladonia, W.A. Confined to granite outcrops and grows in sand or sandy loam.
Distinguished from other members of the ‘ A. victoriae group’ by its large, golden flower-heads, lanceolate phyllodes and prominent, persistent stipules
Type of accepted name
Between Esperance Bay and Frasers Ra., W.A., 1876, Dempster ; iso: NSW, PERTH.
Illustrations
M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 2: 135 (1988); B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 8: 296, fig. 4A- D (1992).
Representative collections
W.A.: 68 km NW of Mt Ragged, W. Archer 22099022 (PERTH); Breeborinia Rock, K.Bradby KLB60 (PERTH); Gilmores, C.A.Gardner 2849 (K, PERTH); near Dundas Rock, S of Norseman, B.R.Maslin 2473 (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.
