Acacia filifolia Benth., London J. Bot. 1: 369 (1842)
Open, wispy shrub, single-stemmed or sparingly branched at base, to 3 m high. Branchlets straight to slightly flexuose, sericeous between resin-ribs at the sometimes subpendulous extremities. Phyllodes distant, sessile, ascending, incurved, quadrangular to subquadrangular, occasionally terete, (10–) 12–20 (–25) cm long, 0.7- 1 mm wide, rather slender, yellow-green, glabrous (except at base or appressed-hairy between nerves, with 8 broad, flat-topped nerves, each separated by a shallow, dark-coloured furrow. Inflorescences simple, 1 or 2 per axil; heads sessile, subglobular to obloid, 6- 12 mm long, 5–8 mm diam., golden; bracteoles acute. Flowers 4-merous; sepals 1/2–3/4-united. Pods linear, to 12 cm long, 2.5–3 mm wide, firmly chartaceous, densely appressed-hairy; margins yellowish, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 3 mm long, glossy, mottled grey-brown and brown; aril seed-length, drying yellowish.
Scattered from near Coorow eastwards through Wongan Hills to near Burracoppin and Southern Cross, south-western W.A. Grows in sand over laterite, mostly in shrubland.
Closely related to A. aprica and A. tratmaniana ; also related to A. merinthophora which has strongly flexuose, pendulous branchlets. See also A. cylindrica .
Type of accepted name
Swan R., W.A., J.Drummond 156 ; syn: K. Swan R. to K.G.S. [King George Sound], W.A., J.Drummond 302 ; syn: K, OXF, P.
Synonymy
[ Acacia ephedroides auct. non Benth.: G.Bentham, Fl. Austral. 2: 400 (1864) p.p. , as to J.Drummond 156 ]
Illustration
M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 2: 111 (1988).
Representative collections
W.A.: 5 km N of Wongan Hills, B.R.Maslin 4970 (BRI, CANB, K, MEL, MO, NY, PERTH); 6.9 km E of Midlands road on South Waddy Road, D.Papenfus DP454 (PERTH); between Moorine Rock and Southern Cross, 6 Aug. 1949, E.Salisbury s.n. (PERTH).
(ARC & 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.
