Acacia pharangites Maslin, Nuytsia 4: 33; 35, fig. 2 & 36, fig. 3C–D (1982)
Wongan Gully Wattle
Somewhat spindly shrub 3 (– 4) m high. Branchlets pruinose towards extremities, glabrous, scarred by raised stem-projections where phyllodes have fallen. Phyllodes erect, straight to shallowly curved, terete, 1.5–4 cm long, c. 1 diam., pungent by a distinct mucro, rigid, glaucous to subglaucous, glabrous, smooth (finely longitudinally wrinkled when dry), 7-nerved. Inflorescences 1– (or 2–) headed racemes; raceme axes c. 0.5 mm long; peduncles 10 mm long, glabrous; basal bract caducous, prominent; heads obloid, 7–10 mm long, c. 25-flowered, golden; bracteoles conspicuously overtopping flower buds. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 1/4–1/2-united, irregularly lobed. Pods linear, strongly raised over seeds on alternating sides, to 7 cm long, 4 mm wide, thinly coriaceous, moderately pruinose, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic, 3–4 mm long, glossy, black; aril yellowish.
Restricted to the Wongan Hills, south-western W.A. Gazetted a rare species in W.A. Grows mostly in gullies in red-brown clay in mixed scrub.
Relationships uncertain; superficially similar to A. tetanophylla which has non-racemose inflorescences, globular heads and much smaller bracteoles, see B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 4: 34 (1982), for further discussion.
Type of accepted name
Wongan Hills [precise locality withheld for conservation reasons], W.A., 28 Aug. 1976, B.R.Maslin 4205 ; holo: PERTH; iso: CANB, K, MEL, NY.
Illustrations
B.R.Maslin, loc. cit.
Representative collection
W.A.: type locality, R.Coveny 7847 & B.R.Maslin (CANB, K, MEL, NSW, PERTH, US, UC).
(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.
