Acacia meiosperma (Pedley) Pedley, Austrobaileya 3: 216 (1990)
Shrub or tree 2–3 m high, pubescent when young. Branchlets angular and resinous at extremities, usually glabrous. Phyllodes inequilaterally narrowly elliptic, straight or shallowly falcately recurved, , 7–12.5 cm long, mostly 2–3 cm wide, usually glabrous, resinous when young, with numerous, fine, close and nonanastomosing veins, of which 3–5 are more prominent; pulvinus 5–10 mm long. Inflorescences initiated synchronously with phyllodes on new shoots, 1–4 per axil, rarely in short racemes; peduncles 3–5 mm long, densely hairy, the basal bract brown and caducous; spikes 1.5–3.5 cm long, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free to 1/4 united; ovary often absent, densely hairy. Pods linear-compressed, to 8 cm long, 3 mm wide, coriaceous, obscurely longitudinally ribbed, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, 3–4 mm long, glossy, dark brown except yellow at centre; funicle-aril folded, creamy white.
Confined to a small area c. 40 km SE of Chillagoe, Qld, where it forms pure stands in shallow stony soil.
Young plants are pubescent and long hairs persist on branches and phyllodes of some mature plants.According to L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 3: 216 (1990), the resemblance of this species to A. brassii may not indicate a close relationship; its inflorescence structure suggests a relationship with A. julifera , A. blakei and other species with spikes arranged in racemes. In the absence of pods, specimens with falcate phyllodes (e.g. Clarkson 2988, cited below) may resemble A. crassicarpa which is readily distinguished by its glabrous peduncles.
Type of accepted name
Sandy Tate R., Qld, Feb. 1928, L.J.Brass 1745 ; holo: BRI; iso: A, CANB, K, MO all n.v.
Synonymy
Racosperma meiospermum Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 321, fig. 1C–E (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
Illustration
L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 326 (1987).
Representative collections
Qld: 23 km E of Almaden on the rd to Chillagoe, J.R.Clarkson 2988 (BRI, PERTH, QRS n.v. , K n.v. ); near Almaden, L.Pedley 4841 (BRI).
(BRM & RSC)
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.
