Acacia legnota Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 215; 233, fig. 9F (1978)
Shrub to tree 2–4 m high. Bark smooth, grey, with prominent white lenticels. Branchlets glabrous. Phyllodes narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate-elliptic, strongly falcate, 12–18 cm long, 8–19 mm wide, long-attenuate basally, obtuse or acute, mucronulate, thinly coriaceous, glabrous, with 6–8 main nerves and sparsely, longitudinally anastomosing minor nerves inbetween. Inflorescences 1- or 2-headed racemes, sometimes simple, 2–4 per axil; raceme axes 2–7 mm long, glabrous; peduncles 10–25 mm long, glabrous; basal bract persistent; heads globular, 5–6 mm diam., c. 35-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free. Pods linear, rounded over seeds along midline, straight, to 12 cm long, 9–11 mm wide, coriaceous, glabrous; margins prominent. Seeds longitudinal, broadly elliptic, c. 5 mm long, dull, dark brown; areole closed; aril clavate.
Frequent in the Cape Flattery to Cooktown area of coastal Qld with outlying populations in the Iron Ra. area and at Cowley Beach. Grows in coastal sands of dunes and in shrubby heathland, often along streams or lagoons.
Superficially similar to A. johannis which has generally narrower phyllodes with fewer nerves per face and narrower pods. May also resemble A. hylonoma and A. ommatosperma .
Type of accepted name
North shore of Endeavour R., Cooktown, Qld, June 1968, L.Brass 33843 ; holo: BRI; iso: K, QRS.
Synonymy
Racosperma legnotum (Pedley) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 351 (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
Illustrations
J.Britten, Bot. Cook’s Voy. 1: pl. 85 (1900), as A. complanata , fide L.Pedley, loc. cit. (1978).
Representative collections
Qld: Iron Ra. Rd about 0.5 km upstream of Brown Ck crossing, P.I.Forster 4155 & D.J.Liddle (BRI); Cowley Beach, M.S.Hopkins 1577 & A.W.Graham (BRI).
(RSC & 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.
