Acacia declinata R.S.Cowan & Maslin, W. Austral. Naturalist 18: 79; 81, fig. 1 (1990)
Prostrate shrub 0.25–0.4 m high. Branchlets terete, densely hirsutellous with short, straight, patent to slightly retrorse hairs. Stipules semi-persistent, triangular to subulate, to 1 mm long. Phyllodes sessile, patent to reflexed, straight to shallowly recurved, subterete to flat, 7–22 mm long, 0.8–1.2 mm diam., cuspidate-pungent with brown tip, rigid, glabrous, 7- or 8-nerved in all, 3-nerved per face when flat. Inflorescences simple, 1 or 2 per axil; peduncles 4–8.5 mm long, glabrous to puberulous; heads globular, 4–6 mm diam., 9–20-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free. Pods linear, undulate, strongly raised and subcarnose over seeds, to 3 cm long, 2–2.5 mm wide, thinly coriaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong to broadly elliptic-oblong, 2.5 mm long, glossy, black; aril subapical, galeiform.
Restricted to near Borden, Manypeaks and Boxwood Hill, W.A. Grows in loamy sand, loam and clay, in tall shrubland and woodland.
Related to the ‘ A. sulcata group’ which (other than A. tetanophylla ) have non-pungent phyllodes; A. tetanophylla has pungent, usually longer, phyllodes and normally glabrous branchlets. Also similar in general appearance to A. retrorsa which has 5-nerved phyllodes and finely ribbed branchlets. See R.S.Cowan & B.R.Maslin, op. cit. 79, for full discussion of relationships.
Type of accepted name
Amelup, Borden road, W.A., 28 Sept. 1972, A.M.Ashby 460 ; holo: PERTH; iso: CANB, K, NY, PERTH.
Illustration
R.S.Cowan & B.R.Maslin, loc. cit .
Representative collections
W.A.: Warrungup, J.S.Beard 7480 (PERTH); 35.4 km E of Albany towards Jerramungup, S.Paust 501 (PERTH).
(RSC)