Acacia hammondii Maiden (as ‘Hammondi’), J. & Proc. Roy. Soc. New South Wales 51: 95, pl. 4 (1917)
Shrub or tree to 4 m high. Bark smooth or fibrous and fissured. Branchlets angular, resinous, glabrous or pubescent, with prominent lenticels. Phyllodes linear or very narrowly elliptic, flat, straight or slightly falcate, 2.5–8.5 (–11) cm long, 3–7.5 mm wide, thinly coriaceous, stiff, with numerous stomates, glabrous or sometimes pubescent, with 2 conspicuous acentral main nerves, the minor nerves 4 or 5 per mm, not anastomosing or joining the margins; gland 1, basal, to 0.5 mm above pulvinus. Spikes 1.2–3 cm long. Flowers 5-merous; calyx cupular, 0.6–0.9 mm long, dissected to 1/3, ciliolate margins; corolla 1.3–1.9 mm long, dissected to 1/2, glabrous; ovary densely white-pubescent. Pods cultrate to narrowly oblong, straight-sided or scarcely indented, 2.7–6 cm long, 5–8 mm wide, papyraceous, shiny, glabrous. Seeds transverse, broadly elliptic, 3.5–5 mm long, dark brown to black; pleurogram with narrow halo; areole almost closed, pale.
Occurs in tropical W.A. (Kimberley region), N.T. and Qld, between 1330’S and 20S; fairly common in coastal and subcoastal districts around the lower Gulf of Carpentaria including the offshore islands, rarer in inland western N.T. and eastern Qld. Grows in open eucalypt woodland often with a grassy understorey, in sand, sandy loam, clay and stoney laterite. Flowers May–Aug.
This species is variable in the width and indumentum of the phyllodes. The type specimen of A. sphaerogemma is very similar to other material of A. hammondii except that the glands on the phyllodes are narrow, longitudinal and slit-like. Acacia malloclada is perhaps simply a variant within this complex. Acacia hammondii is allied to A. hemsleyi . Specimens without fruit may be confused with A. torulosa .
Type of accepted name
Lower Victoria R., N.T., F.Mueller 93 ; holo: NSW; iso: K, MEL.
Synonymy
Racosperma hammondii (Maiden) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 349 (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
Acacia sphaerogemma Maiden & Blakely, J. Roy. Soc. Western Australia 13: 30, pl. 15, figs 13–18 (1928). Type: Walmudja, Roper R., N.T., May 1921, N.B.Tindale 24 ; holo, NSW; iso: K.
[ Acacia plectocarpa auct. non A.Cunn. ex Benth.: F.Mueller, Iconogr. Austral. Acacia dec. 10 [pl. 10] (1888), fide J.H.Maiden, loc. cit. ]
Illustrations
J.H.Maiden, loc. cit. ; J.H.Maiden & W.F.Blakely, loc. cit (as A. sphaerogemma ); J.Brock, Top End Native Pl. 62 (1988); M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 2: 239 (1988).
Representative collections
W.A.: 2.5 km W of Traine R. on the Mt House-Tableland Stn road, T.E.H.Aplin 5106 (K, MEL, NSW, PERTH). N.T.: 4 km NW of Edith R., Stuart Hwy, 6 Aug. 1978, M.Reed (AD, BRI, CANB, DNA, K, MEL, NT, PER); Centre Is., Pellew Is. group, Gulf of Carpentaria, B.Rice 2031 (A, CANB, NSW). Qld: 109 km by road NW of Laura P.O. towards Musgrave Stn, R.G.Coveny 7041 & P.D.Hind (BRI, CANB, K, L, MEL, NSW, QRS, TL, UC, US, Z); c. 8 km N of Lynd Junction towards Mount Garnet, A.N.L.Doust 282 & E.A.Brown (BRI, NSW).
(NSW)
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.
