Acacia idiomorpha A.Cunn. ex Benth., London J. Bot . 1: 329 (1842)
Spreading, sprawling shrub 0.2–1 m high. Branchlets pilose, hirsute, pubescent or glabrous, the hairs rarely crisped. Stipules 2–7 mm long, setaceous, spinescent or only indurate bases subspiny, straight or recurved. Phyllodes asymmetrically ovate to narrowly ovate, elliptic to narrowly elliptic or narrowly oblong-elliptic, 5–25 mm long, 3–14 mm wide, undulate, pungent by a slender cusp, with indumentum as on branchlets, usually 1-nerved; lateral nerves obscure. Inflorescences simple, 1 or 2 per axil; peduncles 5–25 mm long, hirtellous to puberulous or glabrous; heads globular to slightly obloid, 5–8 mm diam., 40–100-flowered, golden; bracteoles normally narrow and long-acuminate. Flowers 5-merous; sepals variably united for 1/4–2/3 their length, with lobes linear to triangular; petals 1-nerved. Pods narrowly oblong, often curved, to 6 cm long, 4–5 mm wide, undulate, densely pilose to villous. Seeds longitudinal to oblique, oblong to widely ovate or elliptic, 3 mm long, light grey or brown, often mottled; aril subterminal.
Found in coastal and near coastal areas from Ledge Point N to Tamala Stn and Dirk Hartog Is., Shark Bay in southern W.A. Grows in sand or loam, often over sandstone or limestone, on coastal cliffs and dunes, along rivers near coast, sometimes in mallee groves or shrubland.
Extremely variable, especially in indumentum and in dimensions of phyllodes, stipules, peduncles and flower-heads; although there appears to be little correlation in the variation, future studies may reveal the need to recognise infraspecific taxa. The type, as well as part of A.S.George 11562 (CANB, K, PERTH) also from Dirk Hartog Is., has an unusual combination of characters: the pubescence on the phyllodes and branchlets is strongly curved, the stipules short, rigid, spiny and strongly recurved and the phyllodes with two longitudinal nerves arising from the base. Plants in coastal habitats often have larger phyllodes and longer peduncles than elsewhere. Some specimens from Kalbarri have atypically large heads with 50–100 flowers (e.g. B.R.Maslin 4978 , PERTH).
Superficially resembles A. paradoxa , a SE Australia species, which is a larger shrub or tree with acute or obtuse, innocuous phyllodes and larger seeds. The two species are not particularly closely related. Sometimes similar to A. congesta .
Type of accepted name
Dirk Hartog Is., W.A., Jan. 1822, A.Cunningham [325] ; holo: K; iso: BM, K, PERTH.
Illustration
M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 2: 65 (1988).
Representative collections
W.A.: between Geraldton and Nanson, A.M.Ashby 4517 (PERTH); Tamala Stn, Shark Bay area, B.R.Maslin 3692 (MEL, PERTH); ‘District Victoria in collibus calcareis prope mare’, E.Pritzel 432 (BM, K, MO, NSW, P, PERTH); Green Head, C.A.Gardner 13939 (glabrous variant) (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.
