Acacia ancistrophylla C.R.P.Andrews, J. Western Australia Nat. Hist. Soc. 1: 40 (1904)
Dense shrub 0.6–2.5 m high, rarely obconic tree to 1.6 m high. Branchlets glabrous or ±appressed-puberulous and soon glabrescent. Phyllodes patent to erect, oblanceolate, narrowly oblanceolate, oblong-oblanceolate, linear or linear-oblanceolate, straight to slightly curved, 1.2–4.8 cm long, 1.5–5 mm wide, acute or obtuse, mucronate, ±coriaceous, glabrous, with numerous closely parallel nerves obscure to ±distinct but then concolorous with the internerve spaces; stomata distinct to obscure; gland 1, at or near base. Inflorescences simple, 2 per axil; peduncles 1–5.5 mm long, glabrous or appressed-puberulous; heads globular, 3–4 mm diam., 11–23-flowered, golden. Flowers mostly 5-merous with some 4-merous ones intermixed; sepals usually free. Pods linear, straight to strongly curved, to 4 cm long, 2.5–3 mm wide, chartaceous to thinly coriaceous, appressed-puberulous or glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong or broadly elliptic, 3–3.5 mm long, dull tan or dark brown; aril terminal and conical or subterminal and appressed, white or cream.
Widespread and scattered in southern W.A., south-eastern S.A. and north-western Vic.
Acacia ancistrophylla together with A. amyctica and A. whibleyana constitute the ‘A. ancistrophylla group’, fide R.S.Cowan & B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 10: 221 (1995). Acacia affin. ancistrophylla , a taxon of uncertain rank but presumably with affinities to A. ancistrophylla , is possibly also a member of this group; it occurs in south-west, W.A., and is keyed and described separately in WATTLE.
The species comprises three varieties.
Key
1 Pods strongly arcuate to openly once-coiled; phyllode tip rounded with a minute mucro (south-western W.A.)
var. perarcuata
1: Pods straight to shallowly curved; phyllode tip acute to subacute
2 Phyllodes (7 - ) 10 - 20 times longer than wide; pods glabrous. (W.A., S.A., Vic.)
var. lissophylla
2: Phyllodes mostly 3 - 8 times longer than wide; pods ±appressed-puberulous (south-western W.A.)
var. ancistrophylla
Acacia ancistrophylla C.R.P.Andrews var. ancistrophylla
Phyllodes ascending, oblanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate, straight, mostly 1.2–2.5 cm long, mostly 2.5–4 mm wide, l:w = 3–8 ( - 15), with acute, curved to uncinate apex; nerves obscure; stomata obscure. Peduncles 2–5 mm long; heads 15–23-flowered; sepals free. Pods 2.5 mm wide, straight to shallowly curved, puberulous. Seeds oblong, dull tan; aril apical, conical, white.
Scattered from Wubin (c. 22 km N of Dalwallinu) S to Newdegate (c. 50 km E of Lake Grace) then E to Cundeelee Mission (c. 200 km E of Kalgoorlie) and near Salmon Gums, southern W.A. Grows in woodland and mallee communities on flats, hillsides and ridges in loam, clay or sandy clay.
One collection (Pingaring, N.Perry 548 , PERTH) has ± pungent phyllode tips, similar to those of A. amyctica , but the nerves are obscure as in var. ancistrophylla . The J.W.Green collection cited below has strongly curved phyllodes, some even sigmoidally curved, and a higher proportion of tetramerous flowers than is typical. The Koch collection cited below has glabrous peduncles that are longer than usual.
Nearest variety is perarcuata which has ±coiled pods; also closely related to A. amyctica which has sharply to coarsely pungent phyllodes.
Type of accepted name
Near Dundas, W.A., Oct. 1903, herb. Cecil Andrews ; holo: NSW; iso: K, NSW, PERTH00739995, 00740403 & 00740411; see B.R.Maslin & R.S.Cowan, Nuytsia 9: 384 (1994), for discussion of types.
Illustration
M.H.Simmons, Acacias Australia 2: 125 (1988).
Representative collections
W.A.: 10 km E of Kulja towards Mollerin, B.R.Maslin 4446 (PERTH); near Coolgardie, Sept. 1920, C.A.Gardner s.n . (PERTH); 12.7 km W of Newdegate, J.W. Green 4464 (PERTH); Cowcowing, M.Koch 1034 (PERTH);
Acacia ancistrophylla var. lissophylla (J.M.Black) R.S.Cowan & Maslin, in D.J.E.Whibley & D.E.Symon, Acacias S. Australia 2nd edn, 206 (1992).
Dwarf Myall
Phyllodes patent to erect, linear or linear-oblanceolate, straight to slightly curved, mostly 1.5–4.8 cm long and 1–3.5 mm wide, l:w = 7–20, with an acute, curved tip; nerves and stomata ±distinct. Peduncles 2–5.5 mm long; heads 11–18-flowered; sepals free or rarely united basally. Pods raised over and slightly constricted between seeds, straight to shallowly curved, to 3 mm wide, glabrous. Seeds broadly elliptic, 3 mm long, dark brown; aril subapical, thin, closely appressed to seed, cream-coloured.
Discontinuous in southern W.A. from near Balladonia, Kalannie and from between Lake Grace and Newdegate, in S.A. from Ceduna on the Eyre Penin. to Pine Point on the Yorke Penin., also near Sutherlands in the Murray Region, and in north-western Vic. in the Rosebery - Swan Hill area. Grows mostly on flats in sandy loam and loam over limestone, usually in mallee communities.
Common on the Eyre Penin., S.A., but more scattered elsewhere in the State; seemingly rare and in southern W.A. and Vic. Variety lissophylla differs from the other varieties comprising the species by its phyllode proportions and by seed morphology. None of the W.A. collections are fruiting and only very few of those from S.A.; additional fruiting material would be valuable. Acacia ancistrophylla var. lissophylla is at least superficially similar to A. lineolata subsp. lineolata .
Type of accepted name
Muloowortie, near Pine Point, E coast of Yorke Peninsula, S.A., R.Tate ; lecto: AD97422173 (flowering branchlet on left with slip-on tag), fide R.S.Cowan & B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 10: 225 (1995); isolecto: PERTH (Fragment ex AD); paralecto: see R.S.Cowan & B.R.Maslin, loc. cit.
Synonymy
Acacia sclerophylla var. lissophylla J.M.Black, Trans. & Proc. Roy. Soc. S. Australia 47: 369 (1923). Type: as for accepted name.
[ Acacia lineolata auct. non Benth.: A.B.Court, in J.H.Willis, Handb. Pl. Victoria 2: 237 (1973)]
Representative collections
W.A: 28 km SW of Balladonia Motel, K.Newbey 11745 (PERTH). S. A.: 24 km due E of Kadina, B.R.Maslin 4525 (CANB, MEL, NSW, PERTH); c. 10 km NE of Port Neill on Lincoln Hwy, D.J.E.Whibley 1977 (K, PERTH). Vic.: Goschen area, 14 Sept. 1989, T.Langdon (MEL).
Acacia ancistrophylla var. perarcuata R.S.Cowan & Maslin, Nuytsia 10: 227 (1995)
Rounded or obconic shrubs 0.6 - 1.6 m high, spreading to 6 m across. Phyllodes ascending, oblanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, 1.2–2.3 cm long, 2.5–5 mm wide, l:w = 3–7, rounded, obtuse, with blunt, very short mucro; nerves and stomata ±obscure. Peduncles 1–3 mm long, ±appressed-puberulous; heads 11–15-flowered; sepals free. Pods (submature) not constricted between seeds, strongly arcuate to openly once-coiled, ±appressed-puberulous.
Occurring mostly in an area around Merredin, from Mukinbudin S to Bruce Rock and E to Carrabin, with three outliers, two of which are from 35 - 40 km south of Norseman and one near Mt Andrew which is c. 116 km southeast of Norseman, south-western W.A. Grows in loam, sand and loamy clay, mostly in Gimlet and Salmon Gum woodland.
Nearest variety ancistrophylla , which has straight or slightly curved pods and phyllodes with the apical portion often curved to uncinate.
Type of accepted name
c. 3.5 miles [5.6 km] NNW of Korbel towards Hines Hill, W.A., 3 Aug. 1971, B.R.Maslin 1758 ; holo: PERTH; iso: CANB, K, NY.
Representative collections
W.A.: 14.5 km due NE of Bruce Rock, B.R.Maslin 1813 (AD, BRI, PERTH); Carrabin, K.Newbey 5787 (PERTH); 40 km south of Norseman, P.E.Conrick 1705 (PERTH); 7 km N of Mt Andrew, c. 116 km SE of Norseman, K.Newbey 7777 (MEL, PERTH).
(RSC & 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.
