Acacia acinacea Lindl., in T.L.Mitchell, Three Exped. Australia 2: 265 (1838)
Gold-dust Wattle , Round-leaved Wattle
Bushy or straggly, open shrub, commonly to c. 2.5 m high. Branchlets somewhat angled at extremities, glabrous or hairy. Phyllodes somewhat asymmetric, narrowly oblong-elliptic, oblanceolate, broadly obovate or circular, usually 4–15 mm long and 2–8 mm wide with l:w = 1–5, ±obtuse and normally excentrically mucronulate, green, glabrous or hairy; midrib obscure or absent; lateral nerves absent; glands 2, adjacent to mucro and near or below middle of phyllode, not prominent. Inflorescences normally 1-headed, rudimentary racemes with axes c. 0.5 mm long, 1 or 2 per axil; peduncles 4–20 mm long, slender, glabrous; heads prolific, globular, 4–4.5 mm diam., 8–20-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free. Pods circinnate to irregularly twisted or spirally coiled, 3–4.5 mm wide, crustaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, ±oblong, 4–5 mm long, shiny, dark brown; aril clavate, 1/4–1/2 length of seed.
Widespread in south-eastern Australia from near Melrose, S.A., throughout most of Vic. and N to Eumungerie and Gulgong, N.S.W. Grows mostly in sand, sandy loam and gravelly soil, in hilly country, in eucalypt woodland, woodland heath and open mallee scrub.
Shape, size and indumentum of the phyllodes are extremely variable and detailed studies are required to elucidate the complex patterns of variation ( fide B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 6: 40 - 42, 1987, for details). Specimens with ±orbicular phyllodes are sometimes treated as A. cyclophylla (phyllodes hairy on type) or more commonly A. rotundifolia (phyllodes glabrous on type). The entity referred to as A. rotundifolia is often similar to A. glandulicarpa in phyllode shape and size.
A member of the ‘ A. microcarpa group’ most closely related to A. triquetra which normally has uni-glandular phyllodes and straight to slightly curved pods. The few specimens with longer than normal phyllodes (i.e. 15–25 mm) may resemble A. microcarpa which has slightly to prominently curved pods, and obtuse phyllodes with larger glands (0.5 mm long). A variant with larger than normal glands occurs in the North Mount Lofty Ra., S.A. (e.g. B.Copley 5311 , AD); it is distinguished from A. microcarpa by smaller phyllodes (8–16 ยด 2.5–6 mm) which are normally obviously mucronulate; typical A. acinacea also occurs in this same region. Sometimes resembles A. rhetinocarpa .
Type of accepted name
Interior of New Holland [between Hopkins R. and Stavely, c. 35 km S of Mt William, Vic.], 19 Sept. 1836, T.L.Mitchell 114 ; syn: CGE, K, PERTH (Fragment ex CGE); interior of New Holland [near L. Charm, Vic.], 22 June 1836, T.L.Mitchell 187 ; syn: CGE, K, MEL.
Synonymy
Acacia obliqua A.Cunn. ex Benth., London J. Bot . 1: 334 (1842), nom. illeg ., non Desv. (1814). Type: between the Lachlan and Macquarie Rivers, N.S.W., July 1817, A. Cunningham 410 ; holo: K; iso: K.
Acacia rotundifolia Hook., Bot. Mag . 69: t. 4041 (1843). Type: cultivated at Hort. Kew in 1843, comm. J.Backhouse [specimen questionably originating from Hunter R., N.S.W., see protologue]; holo: K.
Acacia latrobei Meisn., in J.G.C.Lehmann (as ‘Latrobii’), Pl. Preiss. 1: 10 (1844). Type: Victoria, C.J.Latrobe , comm. D.Sam.Studer 1852 ; lecto: NY, fide B.R.Maslin & R.S.Cowan, Nuytsia 9: 407 (1994); isolecto: G.
Acacia cyclophylla Schltdl., Linnaea 20: 663 (1847). Type: ‘Am steinigen Ostabhange des Berglandes nach dem Murrayscrub.’ [the Murray scrub is apparently part of the Murray Mallee, S.A., south of the modern Truro - Blanchetown highway towards the Marne R., fide D.K.Kraehenbuehl, J.Adelaide Bot. Gard . 3: 111 (1981)], Aug. 1845, H.H.Behr 186 ; holo: HAL; iso: NY.
Illustrations
F. von Mueller, Iconogr. Austral. Acacia dec. 4 [pl. 8] (1887); L.F.Costermans, Native Trees & Shrubs SE Australia 310 (1981); G.M.Cunningham et al. , Pl. W New South Wales 352 (1981); T.Tame, Acacias SE Australia 117, fig. 119, pl. 119 (1992); D.J.E.Whibley & D.E.Symon, Acacias S. Australia 2nd edn, 55 (1992).
Representative collections
S.A.: 5 km S of Monarto, M.E.Lawrence 216 (MEL); c. 8 km W of American R. on road to Kingscote, Kangaroo Is., P.G.Wilson 914 (AD, MEL). N.S.W.: 1 km N of Sutton turn-off on Federal Hwy, M.D.Crisp 2194 (AD, MO, NSW); Goonoo State Forest, H.M.R.Rupp (NSW178696). Vic.: 7.2 km S of Kamarooka, Bendigo District, H.I.Aston 437 (MEL).
(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.
