Acacia asperulacea F.Muell., J. Proc. Linn. Soc., Bot . 3: 123 (1859)
Shrub to 1 m high. Stems glabrous, pubescent or pilose with spreading to retrorse lax hairs, viscid, the internodes often to 3 times as long as phyllodes. Stipules to 2 mm long. Phyllodes 10–14 per whorl, ascending, slightly flattened, straight or recurved, 5–8 (–14) mm long, the mucro c. 0.4 mm long, glabrous or pilose to scabrid, with impressed nerve on upper surface. Peduncles 10–25 mm long, glabrous or pilose. Heads 15–30-flowered. Flowers 5- or 6-merous; calyx 0.6–0.9 mm long, ribbed, glabrous, or lobes ciliate, the lobes incurved, linear, 0.2–0.4 mm long, thick; corolla lobes striate, sparsely hispid. Pods sessile, linear, 30–35 mm long, c. 6 mm wide, glabrous; margins slightly thickened. Seeds not seen mature, longitudinally oblique, c. 3 mm long.
Occurs in shallow stony soil from the east Kimberley region, W.A., through northern N.T., to far north-western Qld.
Related to A. perryi but typically less hairy with less flattened phyllodes, and less prominent stipules and bracteoles (less than 2 mm long). It lacks the long mucro of A. lycopodiifolia and its phyllodes are longer and commonly recurved. Pods sometimes appear stipitate, but due to occasional abortion of lowest seed rather than to consistent development of a stipe. The collections from the east Kimberley region have a very fine, short, dense indumentum. A collection from Echo Waterhole, c. 34 km W of ‘Wollogorong’ on the Calvert Hills road ( R.Pullen 9219a , CANB) resembles this but has a sessile pod and linear calyx lobes. Acacia adoxa var. subglabra has been confused with A. asperulacea , but the two are not particularly closely related.
Until the types are found, Domin’s f. denudata and f. hirsutiuscula cannot be applied with certainty.
Type of accepted name
Upper Victoria R., [N.T.], F.Mueller 73 p.p .; holo: MEL.
Synonymy
Acacia lycopodiifolia var. glabrescens Benth. (as ‘lycopodifolia’ ), Fl. Austral. 2: 342 (1864); A. galioides Benth. var. asperulacea (F.Muell.) Domin, Biblioth. Bot. 89: 252 (1926), nom. illeg. (superfluous); Racosperma asperulaceum (F.Muell.) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 345 (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
Acacia galioides var. asperulacea f. denudata Domin, Biblioth. Bot . 89: 252 (1926). Type: upper Victoria R., [N.T.], F.Mueller ; n.v.
Acacia galioides var. asperulacea f. hirsutiuscula Domin, Biblioth. Bot . 89: 252 (1926). Type: Arnhem Land, [N.T.], F.Mueller ; n.v .
Representative collections
W.A.: spillway, L. Argyle, M.H.Andrew 522 (BRI, CANB); c. 6 km N of Halls Creek, R.A.Perry 2499 (CANB, PERTH). N.T.: 45 km S of McArthur River Stn, R.A.Perry 1689 (BRI, CANB, MEL). Qld: Settlement Ck, Burke District, L.J.Brass 151 (BRI, CANB, MEL); 22 km SW of Kamilaroi Stn, M.Lazarides 3972 (BRI, CANB, MEL, NT, PERTH).
(ASG)
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.
