Acacia enterocarpa R.V.Sm., Victorian Naturalist 73: 171 (1957)
Jumping Jack Wattle
Dense, spreading shrub to 1.5 m high. Branchlets asperulate, reddish brown, ribbed. Phyllodes subsessile, patent to inclined, straight to shallowly recurved, subterete to compressed, 2–4.5 cm long, 1–1.3 mm wide, pungent, rigid, glabrous, asperulate, sometimes viscid, with 10–12 distant, raised, asperulate nerves. Inflorescences simple, 1–4 per axil; peduncles 3–5 mm long, somewhat thick, appressed-puberulous; heads globular, 3.5–4.5 mm diam., 20-flowered, bright yellow. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free. Pods undulate, to 2 cm long, 2 mm wide, coriaceous, brown with thickened, yellow margins, sparsely appressed-puberulous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong to elliptic, 3 mm long, dull, dark brown to black; aril apical.
Occurs in southern S.A. on the southern Eyre Penin., Yorke Penin. (about Curramulka) and near Bordertown extending to Nhill, western Vic. Grows in a variety of soils, in open forest and woodland.
While the phyllodes lack a clearly defined pulvinus, there is a pad of yellowish tissue at their base which might be interpreted as pulvinar; consequently they are described as subsessile.
Closest to A. hexaneura which has persistent, spinose stipules, longer, 6-nerved phyllodes and less contorted pods. Also seemingly related to A. nyssophylla and A. colletioides but differing from both by its asperulate-ribbed branchlets and phyllodes, as well as by its strongly plicate pods having seeds with smaller, whitish arils.
Type of accepted name
Railway reserve about 2 miles [3.2 km] W of Diapur, West Wimmera, Vic., Dec. 1950, E.Muir ; holo: MEL; iso: AD, NSW; same locality, Sept. 1950, E.Muir ; para: AD, MEL, NSW.
Illustrations
L.F.Costermans, Native Trees & Shrubs SE Australia 321 (1981); M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 2: 35 (1988); D.Cheal, in J.H.Leigh & J.D.Briggs (eds), Threatened Austral. Pl. 52 (1992); T.Tame, Acacias SE Australia 93, fig. 84, pl. 84 (1992); D.J.E.Whibley & D.E.Symon, Acacias S. Australia 2nd edn, 203 (1992).
Representative collections
S.A.: c. 5 km SW of Port Neill on Lincoln Hwy, D.J.E.Whibley 1955 (NSW, PERTH). Vic.: Sandsmere Flora Reserve, A.C.Beauglehole 84088 (PERTH).
(RSC & 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.
