Acacia durabilis Maslin, Nuytsia 10: 91 (1995)
Spreading, open, glabrous shrub 0.7–2 m high. Branchlets terete, prominently striate-ribbed, pruinose. Stipules persistent, 7–10 mm long, indurate, coarsely pungent. Phyllodes elliptic, normally 1.5–4 cm long and 1.5–3 cm wide, undulate, obtuse-mucronate, with coarsely pungent and inflexed mucro, coriaceous, green, with prominent midrib and marginal nerves, penninerved, commonly a minor nerve subparallel to midrib from near base; gland prominent, 2–4 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences simple, normally 1 per axil; peduncles 15–25 mm long, often red when young; heads globular, loosely 6–9-flowered, cream to pale yellow; buds large, obtuse. Flowers 4-merous; sepals 1/4–1/3 length of corolla, united into a truncate to sinuolately lobed calyx. Pods narrowly oblong, wholly or partially spirally twisted, to 6 cm long, 6–8 mm wide, crustaceous to subwoody; margins thick. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic, c. 4 mm long, glossy, brown; funicle dilated at attachment to pod; aril small.
Most common in the Ravensthorpe Ra. from Mt Desmond to Kundip, with a collection 7 km NE of Ravensthorpe (c. 12 km NW of Mt Desmond), also occurs at the Jerdacuttup R. (about 10 km E of the Ravensthorpe Ra.), south-western W.A. A specimen from the Pallinup R., c. 150 km due SW of Ravensthorpe Ra. ( Superintendent Daniels s.n. , PERTH00150649) is distributionally anomalous and should be confirmed as coming from this locality. Grows on ridges and hillsides, occasionally near creeks, in rocky or lateritic clay or sandy clay, in open mallee scrub or low woodland.
A member of the ‘ A. myrtifolia group’ and often sympatric with A. heterochroa subsp. heterochroa which it superficially resembles; the dilated funicle is otherwise known only in A. nervosa , all three species are members of the same group.
Type of accepted name
Near Mt Desmond, c. 11 km S of Ravensthorpe, W.A., 20 Dec. 1971, B.R.Maslin 2566 ; holo: PERTH; iso: CANB, K, MEL, NY, PERTH.
Representative collections
W.A.: 11 km ESE of Ravensthorpe, 0.5 km E of Mt Desmond, M.D.Crisp 4954 (CANB, PERTH); Jerdacuttup R., C.A.Gardner 13755 (PERTH); Kundip, K. Newbey 2494 (K, PERTH); Ravensthorpe Ra., 7 km NE of Ravensthorpe, K.R.Newbey 11799 (PERTH).
(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.
