Acacia leptoloba Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 220 (1978)
Spreading shrub to tree 3–5 m high. Branchlets sometimes pruinose, glabrous. Phyllodes inequilaterally narrowly elliptic, shallowly falcate, 7–12 cm long, 18–33 mm wide, obtuse, coriaceous, glabrous except golden stellate-hairy when very young (hairs often confined to margins), with 3 main longitudinal of which only lowermost reaches the apex and is contiguous with lower margin at the base, prominently reticulate; gland basal, 1–2 smaller glands on upper margin at junction of longitudinal nerves. Inflorescences in axillary racemes and sometimes terminal panicles; raceme axes 1–4 cm long, glabrous except for scattered yellow stellate hairs at apex of developing axes; peduncles normally in pairs, 7–15 mm long, glabrous; heads globular, c. 8 mm diam., 40–75-flowered, white. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 3/4-united, golden-hairy on lobes; petals golden-hairy on lobes. Pods flat, to 8 cm long, c. 2 cm wide, thin, transversely reticulate, glabrous. Seeds transverse, 5.5–6 mm long; aril cupular.
Scattered on Cape York Penin. as far S as Herberton, northern Qld. Grows in sandy soils on hills and along streams. Flowers c. Dec.- Apr.
Often confused with A. platycarpa which has larger, thicker pods with larger seeds and no golden-stellate pubescence. Seemingly also related to A. flavescens . Stellate hairs are uncommon in Acacia but they are found also in a few related species such as A. auricoma , A. flavescens , and A. sericata .
Type of accepted name
5 km S of Laura R., 68 km SW of Cooktown, Qld, Apr. 1975, T.J.MacDonald 1637 & G.N.Batianoff ; holo: BRI; iso: CANB, K.
Synonymy
Racosperma leptolobum (Pedley) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 351 (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
Representative collection
Qld: Herberton- Petford road between Irvinebank and Emuford, J.R.Clarkson 2834 (PERTH).
(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.
