Acacia lacertensis Pedley, Austrobaileya 5: 316 (1999)
Slender tree with sparse canopy to 8 m tall. Branchlets stout, angular, glabrous, pruinose. Phyllodes straight or somewhat sigmoid, attenuate at base, 12.5–17 (–20) cm long, 1–2 (–2.5) cm wide, obtuse with a caducous callus, glabrous, rather thin in texture; longitudinal nerves fine, widely spaced, 2 (or 3) more prominent, running together in middle of phyllode at base; gland basal, not prominent; pulvinus 5–14 mm long. Spikes in pairs at base of rudimentary shoot in upper axils, 4–5 cm long, golden yellow; peduncles 5–8 mm long. Flowers 5-merous; calyx 0.4–0.5 mm long, broadly cupular, lobed to about middle, glabrous or fimbriate; corolla 1.4–1.6 mm long, lobed to about middle, glabrous; stamens 3–4 mm long; ovary sparsely sericeous. Pods straight, 8–9 cm long, 3.5 mm wide; valves convex over seeds, with prominent marginal nerves. Seeds longitudinal, obloid, 3.8–4.5 mm long, 1.7–2.3 mm wide; aril terminal, cupular.
Recorded only from the East Alligator R. and its tributary Cooper Ck, Kakadu Natl Park, N.T., on sandy banks. Flowers June–July; fruits collected Sept.
Acacia lacertensis is closely related to A. tropica . The most obvious differences between them are the texture of the phyllodes and the prominence of the nerves. The significance of the differences in pods and seeds is difficult to assess as only one fruiting specimen of A. tropica has been examined and the specimen is not a good representative of the species. It is Georges Ck, A.Nicholls 733 (BRI; distributed from DNA as Acacia sp. aff. A. gonoclada ).
Type of accepted name
Narbalek, N.T., 1219’S, 13319’E, 30 Aug. 1988, R.Hinz 51 ; holo: BRI; iso: AD, CANB, DNA, MEL, NSW, PERTH (all n.v .).
Representative collections
N.T.: East Alligator R., N.B.Byrnes 2751 (BRI, DNA); Narbalek, Cooper Ck, R.Hinz 597 (BRI); Cooper Ck, 45 km N of Oenpilli, G.Chippendale NT8094 (BRI, DNA), 17.8 km along turnoff to Murgenella, Cooper Ck, M.McDonald MM413 (BRI).
(LP)
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.
