Acacia semilunata Maiden & Blakely, Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland 38: 118; pl. 18, figs 1–10 (1927)
Shrub or tree to c. 5 m high. Branchlets terete, sometimes pruinose, normally sparsely to moderately pubescent with straight, spreading hairs, rarely glabrous. Phyllodes somewhat crowded, on raised stem-projections, mostly inequilaterally narrowly elliptic to oblong-oblanceolate with the lower margin straight and upper margin curved, 1.5–3 cm long, 5–9 mm wide, excentrically mucronate to rostriform, thin, grey-green to glaucous, pruinose when young, glabrous except few marginal hairs near base; midrib central; lateral nerves obscure; gland not prominent, 6–12 mm above base, sometimes absent. Inflorescences racemose and aggregated in upper axils, sometimes in terminal panicles; raceme axes mostly 2–6 cm long, normally glabrous; peduncles 2–6 mm long, normally glabrous; heads globular, 15–20-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals c 3/5–3/4-united. Pods linear, shallowly curved, to 8 cm long, 4–5 mm wide, firmly chartaceous, pruinose, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, 4–4.5 mm long, slightly shiny, black; aril clavate.
Scattered, occurring at Knockbreak Stn S to near Stanthorpe, south-eastern Qld. Grows in eucalypt communities on plains in sand or sandy loam or on low rocky hills.
Appears most closely allied to A. cultriformis , fide L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 280 (1980). Similar to A. lunata , especially in phyllode shape, size and indumentum, and short calyces which are c. 1/3 the length of the corolla.
Type of accepted name
Knockbreak Stn, Qld, Aug. 1918, T.L.Bancroft ; holo: NSW; iso: BM n.v ., BRI, K, fide L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 280 (1980).
Synonymy
Racosperma semilunatum (Maiden & Blakely) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 355 (1987). Type:as for accepted name.
Illustrations
J.H.Maiden & W.F.Blakely, loc. cit. ; M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 2: 161 & pl. 29 (1988)
Representative collections
Qld: 65.7 km SW of Cecil Plains, M.E.Ballingall 2096 (PERTH); 6.7 km N of Miles towards Wandoan, N.Hall H77/52 (NSW); 14.5 km W of Inglewood, R.W.Johnson 530 (BRI); Forest Reserve 4, Braemar (near Kogan), 20 Nov. 1968, E.J.Rider s.n. (BRI).
(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.
