Acacia dawsonii R.T.Baker (as ‘dawsoni’), Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales 22: 153, t. 8 (1897)
Poverty Wattle , Mitta Wattle , Dawson’s Wattle
Shrub or occasionally tree 1–4 m high. Branchlets densely appressed-puberulous between the prominent resinous ribs. Phyllodes ascending to erect, linear to narrowly elliptic, straight to shallowly incurved, (3.5- ) 5–11 cm long, 3–8 mm wide, thinly coriaceous, glabrous, with up to 10 slightly raised, subdistant, resinous main nerves of which 1–2 (- 3) are more prominent than the rest, with occasional to frequent anatomoses between main nerves. Inflorescences 4–6-headed racemes; raceme axes 5–25 mm long, appressed-puberulous; peduncles 1–3 mm long, appressed-puberulous; heads depressed-globular, 3–4 mm diam., 4–8 (- 10)-flowered, light golden, subtended by broad, thick outer bracteoles. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united only basally. Pods linear, straight or slightly curved, to 6 cm long, 2–5 mm wide, thinly coriaceous, smooth, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, black; aril apical.
Occurs primarily on the N.S.W. and A.C.T. tablelands but extends to Mitta Mitta in Vic. and to Stanthorpe area in Qld. Grows in poor, drier soils, often rocky and/or with high clay fraction, mostly in eucalypt woodland.
Seemingly related to A. farinosa which has thick, linear-oblanceolate phyllodes with the nerves immersed, as well as non-racemose inflorescences and usually more flowers in the heads, see R.S.Cowan & B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 10: 79 (1995), for further details. The few-flowered heads of A. dawsonii with the subtending, broad and thick, outer bracteoles are similar to those of A. covenyi which differs in all other respects. Superficially similar to A. elongata .
Type of accepted name
Rylstone, N.S.W., 11 Sept. 1895, R.T.Baker s.n. ; holo: NSW; iso: K.
Synonymy
Racosperma dawsonii (R.T.Baker) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 347 (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
Illustrations
L.F.Costermans, Native Trees & Shrubs SE Australia 328 (1981); M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 221 (1981); T.Tame, Acacias SE Australia 70, fig. 53, pl. 53 (1992).
Representative collections
Qld: Amiens near Stanthorpe, Harslett in G.Ward 287 (BRI n.v .). N.S.W.: Capertee, Sept. 1915, J.L.Boorman (C, NSW, PERTH); Cherry Tree Hill, c. 32 km NNW of Inverell, W.McReadie (NSW121810). A.C.T.: Molonglo Gorge, Kowen District, R.Pullen 2900 (MEL, NSW). Vic.: Mitta Mitta R., 2 km S of Mitta Mitta P.O., 3 June 1962, A.B.Court & J.H.Willis (MEL).
(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.
