Acacia platycarpa F.Muell., J. Proc. Linn. Soc., Bot. 3: 145 (1859)
Ghost Wattle , Pindan Wattle
Shrub or tree 2–6 (–10) m high. Bark rough, grey to red-brown; upper branches normally pruinose. Branchlets terete, normally glabrous. Phyllodes inequilaterally elliptic, dimidiate to falcate, 9–14 cm long, 2.5–4.5 cm wide, obtuse, coriaceous, glabrous, with 3 or 4 distant main nerves (some confluent with lower margin near base), coarsely reticulate; gland basal, 1–3 additional glands in notches along upper margin. Inflorescences in axillary racemes or terminal panicles; raceme axes 4–25 cm long; peduncles 9–15 mm long, to 25 mm long in fruit, in fascicles of 2–5, glabrous; heads globular, 5–6.5 mm diam., 31–41-flowered, creamy white to pale yellow. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free to 3/4-united. Pods flat, to 20 cm long, 2.5–3.5 cm wide, coriaceous to subwoody, reticulate, glabrous; margins narrowly winged. Seeds transverse, broadly elliptic, 9–11 mm long, dull, grey-brown to brown; aril large.
Occurs widely across northern Australia, W.A. through N.T. to Qld; in Qld extending S to Blackall. Grows in sand, mostly over sandstone or laterite, in open forest, woodland and shrubland.
Erroneously synonymised with the closely related A. sericata by G.Bentham, Fl. Austral. 2: 391 (1864).
Some specimens from the Great Sandy Desert region of W.A. are atypical in various ways: (1) I.J.Bull 55 & 56 (both PERTH) have phyllodes that are scarcely dimidiate, elliptic to obovate, straight and 6–7 cm long; (2) A.S.George 15568 (CANB, DNA, PERTH) has hirtellous branchlets.
The collection, K.F.Kenneally 11201 , PERTH (in flower) from the Hunter R., Kimberley region, probably represents an undescribed species. It has the general facies of A. platycarpa but is most readily distinguished by its 2-nerved phyllodes which are 1–2 cm wide, thinly coriaceous and (along with the branchlets) sparsely appressed-puberulous.
Related to A. convallium , A. dunnii , A. sericata and A. tolmerensis . Similar to A. leptoloba .
Type of accepted name
Gulf of Carpentaria [N.T./Qld], F.Mueller 8 ; syn: K, MEL; Victoria R., [N.T.], Nov. 1855, F.Mueller s.n. ; syn: MEL.
Synonymy
Racosperma platycarpum (F.Muell.) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 354 (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
Acacia fragrantissima Domin, Biblioth. Bot . 89: 264 (1926). Type: Dividing Ra. near Pentland, Qld, 1910, K.Domin ‘5131’ & ‘5132’ ; syn: PR; L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 221 (1978), treated an unspecified PR specimen as the type of this name, and he considered that the taxonomic position of this entity is still somewhat uncertain.
Illustrations
B.R.Maslin, in J.P.Jessop (ed.), Fl. Central Australia 123, fig. 160D (1980); M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 235 & pls 14 & 27 (1981); J.Brock, Top End Native Pl. 71 (1988).
Representative collections
W.A.: Inglis Gap, King Leopold Ra., J.R.Maconochie 1189 (NSW, PERTH); Mertens Falls, c. 15 km E of Mitchell R., B.R.Maslin 5123 (BRI, PERTH). N.T.: c. 6.4 km SE of Katherine on Stuart Hwy, L.G.Adams 829 (PERTH); Caiman Ck, N.Byrnes 1068 & J.R.Maconochie (PERTH). Qld: 22.5 km E of Prairie Township, M.Lazarides 4547 (NSW, 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.
