Acacia intorta Maslin, Nuytsia 4: 398; 399, fig. 9, 401, fig. 10 & 408, fig. 14 (1983)
Gnarled shrub or tree 2–3 m high; main branches rather contorted and normally spreading horizontally. Bark fibrous, fissured, grey. Branchlets glabrous. Phyllodes erect, straight, usually terete or subterete, usually 5–10 cm long and 1.5–2 mm wide, pungent, rigid, normally subglaucous, glabrous, indistinctly multistriate. Inflorescences rudimentary 1-headed racemes with axes c. 0.2 mm long, often growing out; peduncles mostly 5–15 mm long, glabrous or sparsely puberulous; spikes 1–3.5 (- 5) cm long, not densely flowered. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 3/4-united or united into a truncate calyx. Pods (submature) narrowly oblong, raised over but not or only slightly constricted between seeds, 4–9 cm long, 5–8 mm wide, firmly chartaceous, glabrous. Seeds (submature) longitudinal, elliptic to oblong, 4–7 mm long, dark brown; funicle/aril small.
Occurs from Mount Vernon Stn E to Bulloo Downs Stn on the upper Ashburton R. tributaries with a single collection from N of L. Carnegie, inland Pilbara region of W.A. Grows in alkaline clay, on ridges, slopes and saline flats, in shrubland.
A very rare, flat phyllode form with phyllodes to 4 mm wide is represented by B.R.Maslin 5286 from the type locality. At first glance it might be referred to A. xiphophylla whose phyllodes are not pungent. The species is poorly collected and further material may clarify the unusually large variation in fruit size, as well as the frequency of the flat phyllode variant.
Related to A. sibina which differs in its non-gnarled habit, often longer phyllodes, shorter peduncles and denser spikes.
Type of accepted name
30 km N of Tangadee HS, W.A., 16 Oct. 1976, A.A.Mitchell 283 ; holo: PERTH; iso: CANB, K, MEL, PERTH.
Illustrations
B.R.Maslin, op. cit. 399, fig. 9 & 401, fig. 10.
Representative collections
W.A.: 27.4 km NW of Mt Vernon HS, J.S.Beard 6113 (PERTH); 32 km from Wongawol towards Carnegie Stn, A.R.Fairall 1944 (PERTH); c. 10 km NE of Tangadee HS, B.R.Maslin 5286 (CANB, 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.
