Acacia kempeana F.Muell., Australas. Chem. Druggist , Suppl. 5 (51): 26 (1882)
Witchetty Bush , Wanderrie Wattle
Spreading shrub or tree to 5 m high. Bark furrowed, usually grey or brown. Branchlets terete except at apices, grey or brownish, slightly scurfy, glabrous. Phyllodes narrowly elliptic to very narrowly elliptic, sometimes oblanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, flat, straight or very slightly curved, 3–7.5 (–9) cm long, 4–15 (–25) mm wide, with obtuse and often mucronulate apices, coriaceous, grey- or blue-green, glabrous, resinous when young, very finely multistriate, non-anastomosing, sometimes 1–3 veins slightly more prominent; gland basal. Peduncles 5–12 mm long, glabrous. Spikes 1 or 2 per upper axils, 1–2.5 cm long, dense, bright golden. Flowers 5-merous; calyx cupular, dissected to 1/3, hairy mostly at base; corolla 1.3–2 mm long, 2–2.5 times as long as calyx. Pods oblong to narrowly oblong, flat, 2–7 cm long, 1–1.6 (–2) cm wide, chartaceous, finely transversely reticulate, glabrous, often slightly resinous. Seeds transverse to slightly oblique.
Occurs in all mainland States except Vic. and N.S.W. Widely distributed in arid areas where it occurs usually on stony hillsides or in coarse textured alluvial soils; often abundant in Mulga woodlands on red sandy loam plains. Probably flowers whenever temperature and soil moisture are high. Fruiting mainly Aug.–Nov.
It is closely allied to A. stowardii and A. duriuscula . Also related to A. aprepta .
Aborigines obtained witchetty grubs from the roots, as well as the bush providing edible gum and seed (A.Urban, Wildflowers & Pl. Centr. Australia 84, 1990). Details on fire tolerance and Aboriginal use of A. kempeana are given by P.Latz, Bushfires & Bushtucker 102 (1995).
Type of accepted name
Finke R., N.T., Kempe ; lecto: MEL, fide L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 154 (1978).
Synonymy
Racosperma kempeanum (F.Muell.) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 350 (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
Acacia sibirica S.Moore, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 34: 189 (1899). Type: Siberia Rock, Western Australian Goldfields [75 km NW of Kalgoorlie], W.A., Jan. 1895, S.Moore ; holo: BM.
Illustrations
F.Mueller, Iconogr. Austral. Acacia dec. 10 [pl. 9] (1888); A.A.Mitchell & D.G.Wilcox, Arid Shrubland Pl. Western Australia 276 & 277 (1988); D.J.E.Whibley & D.E.Symon, Acacias S. Australia 2nd edn, 259 (1992).
Representative collections
W.A.: Berringarra Stn HS, J.S.Beard 6626 (NSW, PERTH). N.T.: Mt Gillen, Alice Springs, M.J.Barritt 373 (CANB, DNA, K, MEL, NSW, NT). S.A.: 104 km N of Oodnadatta, P.L.Milthorpe 3061 (NSW). Qld: c. 155 km NW of Windorah, May 1973, Boyland (BRI), fide , L.Pedley, loc. cit .
(PGK)
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.
