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Acacia scleroclada

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Acacia scleroclada Maslin, Nuytsia 10: 196 (1995)

Spreading, somewhat straggly shrub 0.5–1 m high. Branchlets straight and ascending, striate-ribbed, subglaucous, glabrous, ending in hard, rigid, often spinose points. Phyllodes distant and resembling the branchlets, sometimes few, occasionally absent (seemingly dropped upon collection), ascending to erect, narrowly linear to linear-elliptic, narrowed at both ends, straight or incurved, 2–7 cm long, mostly 1–3 mm wide, pungent, subrigid, subglaucous, glabrous, 5-nerved in all; midrib rather prominent, excentric; adaxial margin 2-nerved and slightly thickened; glands not prominent, 1–3, the lowermost 2–5 mm above phyllode base. Inflorescences 1–4-headed racemes, enclosed when very young by imbricate bracts; raceme axes 1–20 mm long, sometimes growing out, glabrous; peduncles 7–12 mm long, glabrous; heads globular, 25–40-flowered, bright golden; bracteoles absent. Flowers mostly 5-merous; sepals free. Pods rounded over seeds and slightly to deeply constricted between them, to 11.5 cm long, 4–6 mm wide, coriaceous, brown, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic, 5–6 mm long, turgid, glossy, dark brown; aril 1/2–2/3 length of seed.

Occurs from Weiragoo Ra. (c. 170 km due W of Meekatharra) and Koonmarra Stn (c. 80 km due NW of Meekatharra) S to near Paynes Find, W.A. Grows in shallow sand or clayey sand, normally on low granite outcrops, in open scrub.

Similar to A. wiseana which is a larger shrub with short, divaricate, glabrous branchlets, shorter and generally narrower, light green phyllodes, broader pods and larger, globose seeds. In general appearance resembling the Queen Victoria Spring-Streich Mound variant of A. inaequiloba which has non-striate-ribbed branchlets, phyllodes with a midrib near the abaxial margin, very short, 1-headed racemes with conspicuous, more or less persistent bracts, 12–21-flowered heads with a bracteole subtending each flower.

Type of accepted name

9.6 km E of Edah towards Mount Magnet, W.A., 1 Aug. 1974, B.R.Maslin 3618 ; holo: PERTH; iso: CANB, G, K, MEL, NSW, NY.

Representative collections

W.A.: 100 yards W of 172 m.p. from Geraldton on Mount Magnet road, A.M.Ashby 4780 (AD, BRI, CANB, MO, PERTH); 3 km NE of Anzac Bore, Koonmarra HS, R.J.Cranfield 5930 (PERTH); 12.8 km from Paynes Find on Yalgoo road, A.R.Main 2 (PERTH).

(BRM)

WATTLE Acacias of Australia CD-ROM graphic

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.

Page last updated: Thursday 22 June 2023