Acacia densiflora Morrison, Scott. Bot. Rev. 1: 96 (1912); Trans. & Proc. Bot. Soc. Edinburgh 26: 51 (1917)
Rounded shrub mostly 0.5–1.2 m high. Branchlets tomentulose. Phyllodes inclined to ascending, straight, terete to compressed or flat and linear, 2.5–5 (- 6) cm long, 1–2 mm wide, coarsely to sharply pungent, rigid, glabrous except pulvinus and base of phyllodes tomentulose, with 16 plane to slightly raised, closely parallel, yellowish nerves; stomata evident in darker coloured internerve spaces; glands 1 or occasionally 2, small. Inflorescences simple, 2 per axil; peduncles 0.5–1.5 mm long, crisped-tomentulose; basal bract caducous, rostriform, 1.5–3 mm long; heads globular, 4–5 mm diam., mostly 15–18-flowered, rarely 11–25-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 1/2–3/4-united. Pods linear, raised over and slightly constricted between seeds, slightly curved, to 4.5 cm long, 2.5 mm wide, thin-crustaceous, tomentulose. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic, 3 mm long, glossy, black; aril apical.
Occurs from near Wyalkatchem and Chiddarcooping (c. 80 km due NNE of Merredin) S to Ongerup and Frank Hann Natl Park (which is located 30-110 km ENE of Lake King), with outliers to the E near Coolgardie, inland southern W.A. Grows mostly in sand and loam in mallee communities.
Collections from near Coolgardie (e.g. K.Newbey 5681 ) and Frank Hann Natl Park (e.g. T.E.H.Aplin & M.E.Trudgen 5918 ) have phyllodes with coarser, tuberculate nerves. The gradual progression in phyllode shape in cross-section from completely terete (as in the type) to subterete to flat makes recognition of infraspecific taxa impractical, at least on this basis, even though the extremes look superficially different.
Acacia densiflora together with A. dissona , A. eremophila , A. hadrophylla , A. kalgoorliensis , A. mackeyana , A. papulosa and A. undosa constitute the ‘A. densiflora group’, fide R.S.Cowan & B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 10: 206 (1995). Acacia densiflora is nearest to A. eremophila , and also close to A. kalgoorliensis and A. mackeyana . Narrow phyllode specimens of A. undosa sometimes resemble A. densiflora .
Type of accepted name
Kellerberrin, E Avon district, W.A., Sept. 1897, R.B.Leake ; iso: K, NSW, PERTH (Fragment ex E).
Representative collections
W.A.: 30 km W of 90 Mile Tank, Frank Hann Natl Park, T.E.H.Aplin & M.E.Trudgen 5918 (K, MO, NY, PERTH); 29 km W of Pederah on road to Kulin, B.R.Maslin 532 (K, MEL, PERTH); 8 km due W of Merredin, B.R.Maslin 2352 (CANB, K, NY, PERTH); 15 km SSW of Queen Victoria Rocks, K.Newbey 5681 (PERTH).
(RSC)
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.
