Acacia ridleyana W.Fitzg., J. Western Australia Nat. Hist. Soc. 1: 12 (1904)
Sprawling, spreading shrub 0.2–0.9 m high. Branchlets obviously hirsutellous to pubescent, rarely glabrous. Stipules persistent, narrowly triangular, to 2.5 mm long. Phyllodes ascending to erect, narrowly oblong to linear-oblanceolate, sigmoidally curved, sometimes straight, 12–25 mm long, 2–3.5 mm wide, with curved or occasionally straight, acute to subobtuse, typically obliquely and pungent tip, coriaceous, with indumentum as on branchlets but sometimes only raised hair-bases evident, with normally 3 distant, strongly raised nerves per face. Inflorescences simple, 1 per node; peduncles 10–20 mm long, with indumentum as on branchlets; heads globular, 5–7 mm diam., 16–30-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free, 1/2–3/4 petal length. Pods compressed-cylindrical, curved, to 5.5 cm long, 3.5–4 mm diam., rigid-coriaceous, finely longitudinally striate, with indumentum as on branchlets. Seeds longitudinal, ovate, 2.5 mm long, mottled darker and lighter brown, arillate.
Occurs from the Murchison R. S to Northampton and at Mogumber, south-western W.A. Grows in sand, clay and loam, mostly in heath.
Two collections from the region in which the type collection was made are completely glabrous (i.e. R.J.Cumming 1550a and A.Coates S4463 ).
Seems most closely related to A. cavealis . Also superficially similar to A. auronitens which has regularly single-nerved glabrous phyllodes, spinescent stipules, larger flower-heads and longer, thick, flat, more woody pods with very broad, pale-coloured margins. Also possibly related to A. wilsonii .
Type of accepted name
Mogumber, W.A., Oct. and Nov. 1903, W.V.Fitzgerald s.n. ; lecto: NSW, fide B.R.Maslin & R.S.Cowan, Nuytsia 9: 392 (1994); isolecto (Nov. 1903): NSW, PERTH.
Synonymy
Acacia auronitens var. mollis E.Pritz., in L.Diels & E.Pritzel, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 35: 290 (1904). Type: Avon district near Mogumber, 31 Aug. 1901, L.Diels 4301 ; iso: PERTH (Fragment ex B).
Representative collections
W.A.: 2 km S of Mogumber, A.Coates S4463 (PERTH); Gillingarra, R.J.Cumming 1550a (PERTH); 10 km N of Mogumber, B.R.Maslin 5052 (CANB, K, MEL, PERTH); 13 km due NNE of Gregory, B.R.Maslin 6267 (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.
