Acacia affin. multispicata
Shrubs 0.5–1 m tall. Bark light grey and smooth from base of stems to tips of branchlets. Phyllodes terete, abruptly contracted to obtuse-mucronulate apices, (15–) 20–40 mm long, 0.8–1.5 mm wide, smooth, ascending to rather widely spreading, shallowly incurved, dull, green to sub-glaucous; longitudinal nerves 8, the nerves clearly separated from one another; pulvinus orange. Flowers 4-merous; sepals about 1/2-united. Inflorescences simple, 1 per axil; spikes +/- sessile, obloid to shortly cylindrical, bright golden, very showy. Pods moniliform to sub-moniliform, 2–5 cm long, 3–3.5 mm wide, glabrous, dark brown. Seeds longitudinal, 2–2.5 mm long, c. 1.5 mm wide, slightly shiny, black, minutely verruculose; aril conspicuous.
Known from only two populations in the north-central wheatbelt region near Kalannie, W.A. Occurs on yellow gravelly sand on the slopes and near the base of low rises.
Very closely related to A. multispicata but is distinguished by its relatively short phyllodes with 8, widely-spaced-nerves. A better understanding of the complex variation patterns within A. multispicata are needed in order to properly assess the taxonomic status of A. affin. multispicata ; phyllodes are rarely 8-nerved in A. multispicata .
Representative collections
W.A.: near Kalannie (precise locality withheld for conservation reasons), B.R.Maslin 7711 (PERTH); near Manmanning (precise locality withheld for conservation reasons), B.H.Smith s.n. , 11 Jan. 1972 (PERTH).
(BRM)
This species was not included in the Fl. Australia treatment of Acacia . The above account is based on the treatment presented in: Maslin, B.R. (1998), Wattle of the Kalannie region: their identification, characteristics and utilisation. CDROM Publication. (Department of Conservation and Land Management: Perth.)
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.
