Acacia sutherlandii (F.Muell.) F.Muell (as ‘Sutherlandi’), Iconogr. Austral. Acacia dec. 12 [pl. 8] (June 1888)
Cork Tree , Weeping Mimosa
Shrub or tree 3–15 m high, with slender trunk and pendulous branches. Bark corky, deeply furrowed. Branchlets glabrous. Stipular spines 1–6 (–8) mm long. Leaves: petiole 0.8–3 cm long, glabrous or sparsely puberulous, mostly with small, raised gland at base of lowest pair of pinnae; rachis 5–23 cm long, glabrous or sparsely puberulous, with small gland at apex, sometimes other jugary glands present towards both ends; pinnae (6–) 12–29 (–33) pairs, 1.6–6.5 (–8.2) cm long, often alternately arranged towards centre of rachis; pinnules herbaceous, 9–31 pairs, mostly well-spaced, narrowly oblong to cultrate or sometimes narrowly oblanceolate or elliptic, 1.5–5 (–7) mm long, 0.5–1.5 (–1.7) mm wide, glabrous or ciliolate, sometimes especially towards apex. Inflorescences simple, solitary; peduncles 1.5–18 mm long, with involucel of bracts near apex; spikes 2–7 cm long, c. 20–50-flowered, pale cream-coloured; flowers usually separated or in clusters. Pods straight-sided or irregularly constricted between seeds, flat except slightly raised over seeds, 3.5–25 cm long, 10–23 mm wide, coriaceous, with anastomosing longitudinal nerves, speckled with pale lenticels, glabrous; margins often very narrowly winged.
Occurs in Gulf of Carpentaria country from Kilgour R. area S to Rockhampton Downs and Alroy Downs Stns, N of Barkly Hwy, N.T., and near Burketown S to Aramac- Longreach area, Qld; often forming groves in grassland or open woodland on plains, in black or grey, often cracking, clay soils or loamy soils; also on dunes near saline tidal flats. Flowers recorded Feb., May, June; fruits June–Oct.
Acacia sutherlandii is the only Australian species in subg. Acacia with spicate inflorescences.
Type of accepted name
Flinders R., Qld, J.Sutherland 114 ; holo: MEL n.v .
Synonymy
Albizia sutherlandi F.Muell, Fragm . 6: 22 (1867). Type: as for accepted name
Acacia melaleucoides F.M.Bailey, Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland 5: 121 (Sept. 1888). Type: South-eastern slope of Newcastle Ra., between Georgetown and Junction Ck, Qld, R.C.Burton ; n.v .
Illustrations
F.Mueller, loc. cit . (1888); K.A.W.Williams, Native Pl. Queensland 2: 29 (1984).
Representative collections
N.T.: Rockhampton Downs HS, 2 Oct. 1957, G.Chippendale (CANB, NSW, NT). Qld: Winton- Longreach, 6 June 1978, G.W.Althofer (BRI, CANB, NSW); 38.5 miles [61.95 km] S of Prairie, to Muttaburra, P.Hind 1069 & C.K.Ingram (BRI, CANB, K, L, MEL, NSW, PERTH, US); 0.8 miles [1.3 km] E of Corinda Stn, R.A.Perry 1370 (CANB, K, NT); Levuka, Oorindi, 23 May 1967, J.T.Waterhouse (NSW).
(PGK & MDT)
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.
