Acacia fimbriata A.Cunn. ex Don, Gen. Hist . 2: 406 (1832)
Fringed Wattle , Brisbane Golden Wattle
Shrub or tree to 6 m high. Branchlets slender, with indumentum of short, spreading to appressed hairs often confined to the fine ribs, sometimes glabrous. Phyllodes linear to narrowly oblong-elliptic or narrowly lanceolate, usually 2–5 cm long and 2–5 mm wide with l:w = 5–25, acute to obtuse-mucronulate, thin, sparsely to densely fimbriolate with appressed hairs, sometimes glabrous; midrib fine; lateral nerves few and obscure; glands 1, rarely 2, prominent but not or only slightly exserted, the lowermost 1–6 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences racemose; raceme axes 1.5–7.5 cm long, slender, glabrous or hairy; peduncles 1.5–5 mm long, slender, glabrous or hairy; heads showy, globular, 8–20-flowered, usually bright golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals c. 3/4-united, often partially separating with age. Pods to 8 cm long, 5- 9 mm wide, firmly chartaceous, commonly pruinose, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 4–5 mm long, subshiny, black; aril clavate.
Occurs in eastern Australia mainly in coastal and adjacent tableland areas from near Nerriga, N.S.W., N to near Yeppoon, Carnarvon Natl Park and Ravenshoe, Qld. A similar disjunction pattern occurs also in A. falcata and A. falciformis . Favours moist sites near streams and on margins of light rainforest, also occurs on hillsides as an understory in eucalypt woodland or open forest.
A variable species, especially in phyllode dimensions and indumentum density, fide L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 284 (1980). Glabrous individuals are uncommon and not considered worthy of formal rank. Few specimens from Qld (e.g. Yeppoon, E.J.Richter 13 , BRI) have linear phyllodes to 7 cm long, 1.5 mm wide with l:w = 35 and as such resemble A. perangusta . One Qld specimen (from between Yarraman & Nanango, W.J.F.McDonald 1585 , BRI) has atypically short phyllodes, c. 1 cm long. The flower-heads are normally light golden to mid-golden, however, a variant with cream flower-heads is known from a population of otherwise normal coloured individuals in the Blue Mtns, N.S.W. (e.g. B.R.Maslin 5888A , PERTH). Plants from Darling Downs, Qld, have much brighter coloured flower-heads than coastal plants within that State, fide B.A.Lebler, Wildfl. SE Queensland 2: 63 (1981).
G.Bentham, Fl. Austral. 2: 371 (1864), treated A. fimbriata as conspecific with A. prominens and also included elements of it under A. linifolia . J.H.Maiden, Forest Fl. New South Wales 5: 29, 34, 61–65, pl. 157 (1911) and V.S.Summerhayes, Bot. Mag . 155: t. 9256 (1931) discussed the confusion surrounding these three names. Acacia prominens is commonly a taller plant than A. fimbriata and has phyllodes which are 5–12 mm wide, grey-green to glaucous (green to greyish green in A. fimbriata ), never fimbriolate and possessing more prominent glands which are generally further removed from the pulvinus. Acacia linifolia is distinguished by its glabrous phyllodes 0.8–2.5 mm wide, gland 5–15 mm above the pulvinus and 6–12-flowered, creamy yellow heads.
Common in cultivation where it sometimes hybridises with A. macradenia (sect. Phyllodineae ) and possibly A. chrysotricha (sect. Botrycephalae ).
Type of accepted name
Brisbane R., Qld, Sept. 1828, A.Cunningham 158 ; holo: BM n.v. , fide L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 283 (1980); iso: K n.v .
Synonymy
Acacia prominens var. fimbriata (A.Cunn. ex Don) Domin, Biblioth. Bot . 89: 256 (1926); Racosperma fimbriatum (A.Cunn. ex Don) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 348 (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
Acacia prominens var. whiteana Domin, Biblioth. Bot . 89: 256 (1926). Type: upper Brisbane R., Qld, Aug. 1908, C.T.White ; holo: PR.
Acacia fimbriata var. glabra C.T.White, Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland 50: 72 (1939). Type: Biggenden district, Qld, Apr. 1921, W.R.Petrie 18A ; holo: BRI.
[ Acacia prominens auct. non A.Cunn. ex Don: G.Bentham, London J. Bot . 1: 358 (1842) and Fl. Austral. 2: 371 (1864) p.p. , as to A. fimbriata g iven in synonymy]
[ Acacia linifolia auct. non (Vent.) Willd.: G.Bentham, Fl. Austral. 2: 371 (1864) p.p. , as to F.W.Sieber 465 (G-DC, MO, STR) and perhaps all Qld specimens cited]
Illustrations
J.H.Maiden, Forest Fl. New South Wales 5: pl. 157 (1911); V.S.Summerhayes, Bot. Mag . 155: t. 9256 (1931); E.R.Rotherham et al. , Fl. & Pl. New South Wales & S Queensland 65 (1975); B.Lebler, Wildfl. SE Queensland 2: 62 (1981); M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 2: 159 (1988); T.Tame, Acacias SE Australia 158, fig. 175, pl. 175 (1992).
Representative collections
Qld.: Blackdown Tableland, B.Golding 9 (BRI); 8- 10 km NE of Byfield State Forest area, G.N.Batianoff 509 & T.J.McDonald (BRI). N.S.W.: 6.4 km by road E of Deepwater, E.F.Constable 7082 (NSW, PERTH); Bolivia Hill, 37 km S of Tenterfield on New England Hwy, 4 Jan. 1969, M.Tindale s.n . (NSW, 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.
