Acacia levata R.S.Cowan & Maslin, Nuytsia 10: 41 (1995)
Spreading, multistemmed shrub 1–3 m high. Branchlets sometimes glabrous but normally sericeous at extremities and glabrescent. Phyllodes patent to slightly ascending, narrowly elliptic to oblong-elliptic, straight to shallowly curved, 8–13.5 cm long, 1–2 cm wide, obtuse to acute, thickly coriaceous, subrigid, minutely sericeous, with 4–6 distant, prominent main nerves per face and longitudinally anastamosing secondary nerves between them; glands 1–3, lowermost 1–4.5 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences simple, 1 to several per axil; peduncles 5–7 mm long, glabrous or (especially in bud) appressed-hairy; spikes 20–25 mm long, 6 mm diam., dense, golden; bracteoles with a short stipe and triangular, concave blade. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 1/2–3/4-united, the calyx tube glabrous. Pods pendent, linear, narrowly winged, not raised over or constricted between seeds, straight to slightly curved, to 15 cm long, 8–12 mm wide, woody, glabrous, drying yellowish brown and slightly wrinkled. Seeds longitudinal, broadly elliptic to subcircular, 5–5.5 mm long, dull, brown; funicle ribbon-like; aril subterminal.
Restricted to a small area S and SSW of Marble Bar, north-western W.A. Grows in sand and sandy loam, on hilltops and slopes, with Acacia hilliana and A. stellaticeps and spinifex.
Related to A. cuthbertsonii subsp. cuthbertsonii which is most readily distinguished by its generally smaller, more obviously hairy phyllodes with less evident venation and sericeous, interrupted spikes but also with different pods and seeds.
Type of accepted name
41 km SW of Marble Bar on the track to Spear Hill, 20 May 1982, B.R.Maslin 5264 ; holo: PERTH; iso: AD, BRI, CANB, K, MEL, MO, NSW, NY.
Representative collections
W.A.: Spear Hill, 63 km by road SW of Marble Bar, 17 Oct. 1983, P.Ryan s.n . (PERTH); 37.2 km S of turnoff to Marble Bar Pool on road to Wittenoom, L.Thomson LXT1158 (PERTH); 29.7 km ESE of Woodstock HS on road to Hillside, L.Thomson LXT1161 (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.
