Acacia oraria F.Muell., Fragm . 11: 66 (1879)
Spreading tree 3–10 m high. Bark fibrous, fissured. Branchlets white scurfy. Phyllodes inequilaterally obovate-oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, mostly 5–8 cm long and 1.5–3.5 cm wide, rounded-obtuse, glabrous, scurfy when young, with 3 or more distant main nerves (the lowermost sometimes confluent with the lower margin at the base), prominently reticulate between main nerves; gland basal. Inflorescences axillary or sometimes terminal 3–5-branched racemes; raceme axes 8–18 mm long, scurfy; peduncles 4–11 mm long, scurfy; heads globular, scurfy in bud, 5 mm diam., 30–45-flowered, cream to pale yellow. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 1/4–1/2-united. Pods openly coiled to twisted, to 12 cm long, 1–1.5 cm wide, scurfy, margins prominent. Seeds longitudinal, 4 mm long; areole closed; aril/funicle (3/4- ) wholly encircling seed, red or orange.
Occurs in several disjunct areas along the eastern coast of Qld N of 22S latitude, extending inland N of the Atherton Tableland. Also recorded from Flores and Timor, fide L.Pedley, Contrib. Queensland Herb . 18: 6 (1975). Grows in sand along beaches and inland along streams.
In coastal areas of Qld the aril is red whereas further inland it is greenish orange.
Seemingly related to A. melanoxylon .
Type of accepted name
Rockingham Bay, Qld, 30 July 1869, J.Dallachy ; syn: BM n.v ., MEL n.v ., fide L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 217 (1978), NSW; Trinity Bay, Qld, F.M.Bailey ; syn: BRI; Port Denison, Qld, Fitzalan ; syn: NSW.
Synonymy
Racosperma orarium (F.Muell.) Pedley, Bot. J. Linn. Soc ., 92: 249 (1986). Type: as for accepted name.
Acacia oraria var. amblyphylla Domin, Biblioth. Bot . 89: 265 (1926). Type: near Cairns, Qld, Dec. 1909, K.Domin s.n .; holo: PR n.v. , fide L.Pedley, loc. cit ..
Acacia oraria var. typica Domin, Biblioth. Bot. 89: 264 (1926), nom. inval .
Illustration. J.W.Turnbull (ed.), Multipurpose Austral. Trees & Shrubs 177 (1986).
Representative collections
Qld: Trinity Beach, Cairns, J.R.Maconochie 1713 (BRI n.v. , DNA n.v ., PERTH); between Cooktown and Lakeland, c. 21 km from Lakeland, J.Moriarty 231 (FRI n.v. , 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.
