Acacia caesiella Maiden & Blakely, J. & Proc. Roy. Soc. New South Wales 60: 180; pl. 14, figs 6–13 (1927)
Tableland Wattle , Bluebush Wattle , Blue Bush
Normally a multistemmed shrub 1.5–4 m high with a mallee habit, sometimes a tree to 7 m high. Branchlets angled at extremities, often lightly pruinose, with indumentum usually of moderate to dense, appressed straight hairs. Phyllodes patent to erect, sometimes deflexed, linear to narrowly elliptic, 4–10 cm long, usually 3–6 mm wide, thin, glaucous to subglaucous, with indumentum similar to branchlets except sparser, sometimes glabrous, 1-nerved; lateral nerves obscure; gland not exserted, 4–17 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences 6–12-headed racemes, prolific in upper axils; raceme axes normally 1–4 cm long, with indumentum as on branchlets; peduncles 3–5 mm long, with indumentum as on branchlets; heads globular, 12–18-flowered, golden; bracteole laminae circular, brown, white-fimbriolate. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united almost to their apices; ovary densely pubescent. Pods to 8 cm long, 8–10 mm wide, firmly chartaceous, black, pruinose, glabrous, dehiscing unilaterally. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, 5–6 mm long, slightly shiny, black; aril clavate.
Occurs in N.S.W. from the Warrumbungle Ra. to Lithgow, also further S near Burrinjuck. Normally grows in sand on sandstone, in Eucalyptus forest or open woodland.
Most specimens have a characteristic indumentum of straight, appressed, silvery white hairs. However, a glabrous variant with phyllodes 4–8 cm 4–5 mm occurs at Breakfast Ck, Bylong (e.g. J.E.Carne, NSW167292) and a variant with patent branchlet hairs occurs at Kerrabee, Goulburn R. (e.g. G.W.Althofer , NSW167293). The phyllodes on some specimens from the vicinity of Mt Coricudgy, E of Rylestone, are broader than normal (to 12 mm wide) and/or shallowly recessed at the gland or the gland is connected to the midrib by a fine oblique nerve (e.g. D.J.McGillivray 1578 , NSW, PERTH).
Closely related to A. barringtonensis which has shorter branchlet hairs (<0.1 mm compared with 0.1–0.2 mm) and usually broader, dark brown pods. Also, except for the Mt Coricudgy variants noted above, the phyllodes of A. caesiella are generally narrower than those of A. barringtonensis and are not recessed at the gland which is not connected to the midrib by a fine oblique nerve. Related also to A. clunies-rossiae .
Type of accepted name
Capertee, N.S.W., Sept. 1915, J.L.Boorman ; syn: NSW; isosyn: K, PERTH; Capertee, N.S.W., Dec. 1915, J.L.Boorman ; syn: NSW; isosyn: CANB, K, MEL.
Illustrations
J.H.Maiden & W.F.Blakely, loc. cit .; I.B.Armitage, Acacias New South Wales 112 (1978); T.Tame, Acacias SE Australia 154, fig. 170, pl. 170 (1992).
Representative collections
N.S.W.: Burrinjuck, Aug. 1922, J.W.Campbell per C.Andrews (NSW); 20.8 km by road E of Rylstone on Mt Coricudgy Rd, R.Coveny 6605 & P.Hind (A n.v. , CANB n.v. , G n.v. , K n.v. , MEL n.v. , NSW, P n.v. , TNS n.v. , UC n.v. , US n.v. , Z n.v. ); 9.3 km NNE of Rylstone on the road to Bylong, B.R.Maslin 5912 (MEXU, NSW, PERTH); Warrumbungle Mtns, B.A.Hamilton 70 (NSW).
(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.
