Acacia acanthaster Maslin, Nuytsia 12: 312 (1999)
Rigid, dense, intricate, domed shrub 0.2–0.5 m high and 1–2.5 m across. Branchlets glabrous, dividing near extremities into a few short, straight, radiating, aphyllous spines. Phyllodes linear, flat, 3–8 mm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, narrowed at base, straight to shallowly incurved but often slightly recurved at the obtuse, excentrically rostellate apices, green, glabrous; midrib not prominent; gland inconspicuous, near or above middle of phyllode, often absent. Inflorescences simple, 1 or 2 per axil; peduncles 6–11 mm long, slender, glabrous; basal bract brown; heads globular, 3–3.5 mm diam., 18–27-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free. Pods moniliform, strongly arcuate to rather loosely coiled, to 3.5 cm long, 2 mm wide, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic, narrowed at hilar end, obliquely truncate adjacent to aril, 2 mm long; aril clavate, white.
Discontinuous, occuring between Dumbleyung, Lake King and Narembeen, but also near Sinclair Soak (c. 280 km due NE of Lake King), south-western W.A. Grows in sand, sandy clay, clay and granitic loam, in Eucalyptus woodland or mallee shrubland.
Similar to A. pulviniformis which has spinescent branchlets but not radiating spines, semi-terete to compressed phyllodes, fewer flowers per head, united sepals and tightly coiled pods.
Type of accepted name
20 km SE of Sinclair Soak, c. 63 km NE of Norseman, W.A., 9 Aug. 1980, K.Newbey 6986 ; holo: PERTH; iso: K, PERTH.
Representative collections
W.A.: 15.7 km E of Dumbleyung towards Lake Grace, R.Cumming 2609 (PERTH); 45 km W of Lake King on road to Perth, F.Lullfitz 5578 (PERTH); 51 km due ESE of Narembeen, intersection of Anderson Rocks Rd and The Humps Rd, B.R.Maslin 6149 (PERTH).
(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.
