Acacia pellita O.Schwarz, Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg . 24: 86 (1927)
Shrub or tree to 4 m high. Bark slightly fibrous, brown or grey. Branchlets slightly angular, tomentose, ribbed. Phyllodes obliquely narrowly elliptic to elliptic, 10.5–19.5 cm long, 30–100 mm wide, papery to slightly coriaceous, with 2–4 prominent main nerves concurrent with each other and abaxial margin near base, (nerve nearest abaxial margin terminating towards apex), the minor nerves closely reticulate, with interstices square with free nerve-endings; gland prominent, basal. Spikes 3–7 cm long, golden. Flowers 5-merous; calyx 0.7–0.8 mm long, dissected to 1/5–1/3, villous; corolla 2–2.4 mm long, dissected to 1/2, villous; ovary densely villous. Pods linear, coiled in masses, to 7 cm long, 3.5–5 mm wide, tomentose. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, 3.9–4.5 mm long, black; areole oblong, open or almost so.
Restricted to tropical Australia in the northern N.T. and north-western W.A. There is also a specimen collected by W.S.Campbell on Thursday Is., Qld (NSW), but L.Pedley, Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland 74: 59 (1964), has queried this locality. Acacia pellita occurs along creek banks in sandy soil in eucalypt woodland usually in shady areas on sandstone or laterite. Flowers June & July.
There is very little variation in this species except in the length and breadth of the phyllodes. It is allied to A. holosericea , from which it differs in the ribbed, but only slightly angular branchlets, in the often much wider phyllodes, in the prominent, raised, round, basal gland, and tightly coiled, tomentose pods. Related also to A. nesophila . There are also similarities to A. humifusa , especially the type of basal gland and the phyllode vestiture and strongly reticulate nerves with free nerve-endings in the interstices.
Type of accepted name
Port Darwin, 14 miles [22.4 km] E [of] banks of Milners Creek, N.T., Bleeser 479 ; holo: B (destroyed); iso: NSW.
Synonymy
Acacia holosericea var. pubescens F.Muell., J. Proc. Linn. Soc., Bot . 3: 145 (1859). Type: banks of Victoria R., [N.T.], Nov. 1853, F.Mueller ; holo: MEL.
Illustrations
J.Brock, Top End Native Pl . 71 (1988); J.R.Wheeler, in J.R.Wheeler (ed.) et al ., Fl. Kimberley Region 316, fig. 91G (1992); C.R.Dunlop, G.J.Leach & I.D.Cowie, Fl. Darwin Region 2: 18, fig. 9 (1995).
Representative collections
W.A.: 110 km SW [of] Kununurra, G.Wightman 1738 & C.Dunlop (DNA, K, PERTH). N.T.: Eva Valley Stn, C.Dunlop 3090 (BRI, CANB, DNA, NSW); top of Florence Falls, Litchfield Park, M.D.Tindale 10195 & G.Leach (DNA, NSW, PERTH); 17 Mile Valley, Katherine Natl Park, M.D.Tindale 6033 & C.Dunlop (CANB, K, MEL, NSW, UNSW).
(NSW)
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.
