Acacia affin. retinervis
Shrub 2-5 m tall or tree to 10 m tall. Bark fissured, grey-brown. New shoots resinous, rusty-brown, glabrous. Branchlets slightly flattened at extremities becoming terete, grey or reddish, glabrous, often pruinose, sometimes scurfy. Phyllodes dimidiate or orbicular to elliptic, 7–13 cm long, 14–40 mm wide, glabrous, green or pruinose, with 3–5 prominent longitudinal veins, the minor veins forming an open reticulum with distinct open nerve-islands; gland basal, obscure. Inflorescences 1–3 per axil, simple or occasionally racemose; spikes 2–4.5 cm long, flowers densely arranged, yellow. Flowers 5-merous; calyx deeply lobed, villous; ovary pubescent. Pods narrowly oblong to oblong, straight, 2.5–7.5 cm long, 7–14 mm wide, longitudinally furrowed when dry, glabrous, often pruinose. Seeds transverse to oblique, broadly elliptic, laterally compressed, 6–7 mm long, black; pleurogram lateral, with indistinct halo; areole oblong-elliptic, open.
Endemic to the northern Kimberley region extending from Cape Londonderry south to the Carson Escarpment. Grows in open woodlands mainly on laterite and sandstone substrates. Flowers mainly in June.
Acacia affin. retinervis is closely related to, and commonly confused with the parapatric A. retinervis . It mainly differs from this species in having often pruinose, dimidiate or orbicular to elliptic phyllodes with a more open reticulum (i.e. nerve-islands larger than in typical A. retinervis ) and shorter pods. Both taxa are members of the A. tumida species complex.
Representative collections
W.A.: 24 km S of Mitchell Plateau turn-off, B. Barnsley 1561, (NSW, PERTH); Euro Gorge, Drysdale River National Park, K.F. Kenneally 4383, (BRI, PERTH); Coucal Gorge, Carson Escarpment, Drysdale River National Park, A.S.George 13868 (PERTH); 5.1 km W along Mitchell Plateau Road, M. McDonald 329, (PERTH); 8.9 km NE of Pago near Kalumburu, M.McDonald 1887 (BRI, PERTH).
(MWM)
This taxon is noted in the Fl. Australia treatment under A. retinervis .
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.
