Acacia nivea R.S.Cowan & Maslin, Nuytsia 10: 250 (1995)
Low-spreading to domed, dense shrub 0.4–1 m high. Branchlets terete, densely puberulous or strigulose with with very short, straight, appressed to suberect hairs which soon become embedded in a hard, normally white resin. Phyllodes inclined to erect, straight to slightly arcuate, terete, 1–2 cm long, 0.8–1.2 mm diam., abruptly contracted to pulvinus, rounded-obtuse and excentrically micro-mucronulate, glabrous, resinous, with 12–16 fine, normally slightly raised nerves. Inflorescences simple, 2 per axil; peduncles 2–4.5 mm long, glabrous; basal bract persistent, triangular to broadly ovate; heads globular, 2.5–3 mm diam., 9–12-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free or rarely partly united; petals free. Pods (submature) linear, undulate, strongly raised over seeds on alternate sides, slightly curved, 3–3.5 cm long, 3 mm wide, chartaceous or thinly coriaceous, glabrous. Seeds (submature) longitudinal; aril lateral.
Discontinuous, occurring in the Lake King area SE to c. 40 km NNW of Munglinup (Munglinup is c. 75 km ESE of Ravensthorpe) and E to near Grasspatch, Clyde Hill (c. 70 km N of Esperance) and in the Mt Andrew- Ponier Rock area (SW of Balladonia), W.A. Grows in sand, sandy loam or clay, in low open woodland, tall mallee shrubland and low open shrubland.
A member of the ‘ A. dielsii group’, related most closely to A. dielsii which has non-resinous branchlets, larger, cucullate basal peduncular bracts and very different pods. Also superficially similar to A. pinguiculosa subsp. teretifolia which has thicker, 6- or 8-nerved phyllodes, longer peduncles and biconvex pods.
Type of accepted name
About 23 km E of Mt Madden, W.A., 6 Aug. 1968, P.G.Wilson 6840 ; holo: PERTH; iso: CANB, K.
Representative collections
W.A.: 30 km W of Ponier Rock, c. 80 km SW of Balladonia Motel, Eyre Hwy, K.Newbey 7315 (PERTH); 36 km E of Lake King, K.Newbey 9475 (MELU, PERTH), K.Newbey 9475-1 (MELU, PERTH) and K.Newbey 9475-2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 (PERTH).
(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.
