Acacia froggattii Maiden, J. & Proc. Roy. Soc. New South Wales 53: 204; pl. 14, figs 8–16 (1920)
Much-branched, spreading shrub 0.4–1 m high. Branchlets terete, commonly with longer, straight, gland-tipped hairs and shorter, antrorsely curved hairs. Stipules persistent, acicular, free, 1–1.5 mm long, sublateral. Phyllodes crowded, ascending, inequilaterally cuneate, obovate, oblanceolate or elliptic, curved, 3.5–7 mm long, 1.2–2.5 mm wide, straight to recurved at apex which is pungent by a short, slender mucro, coriaceous, puberulous (many hairs gland-tipped), obscurely 3-nerved, the nerves sometimes superficially absent; gland inconspicuous. Inflorescences simple, 1 per axil; peduncles 9–17 mm long, puberulous; heads globular, 4–6 mm diam., 25–56-flowered; bracteoles fusiform to narrowly spathulate, acuminate. Flowers 5-merous, sepals 1/2-united. Pods linear, slightly raised over seeds, curved, to 4 cm long, 4–5 mm wide, coriaceous, glandular-puberulous and with shorter, curved hairs. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, 6 mm long, dull, dark brown; aril apical.
Occurs in the Artesian Ra., Isdell Ra. and Phillips Ra. areas in the Kimberleys, W.A. and in the Fitzroy Ra. area, N.T. Grows in shallow soil on sandstone, in shrubland and woodland.
The two collections seen from the the N.T., R.A.Perry & M.Lazarides 2699 and B.G.Thompson 1280 (DNA), differ slightly from the rest of the material: the pubescence of the branchlets and peduncles consists of hairs of variable length, many to mostly gland-tipped, and the corollas are not multinerved as in the other materials studied. These differences may indicate an infraspecific Taxon or simply part of the pattern of variation.
The PERTH752606 sheet is indicated as holotype because it bears Fitzgerald’s original label with his hand and his collection number; the sheet at NSW has neither. The specific name appears in both cases in the hand of Blakely, Maiden’s associate.
Most closely related to A. adenogonia and A. sublanata , but with differently shaped phyllodes and different pubescence on the branchlets; also related to A. stipulosa which differs in its phyllode shape and venation, as well as in having partially united stamens and obliquely oriented seeds.
Type of accepted name
Woollybutt [Woolybutt] Ck near Phillips Ra., W.A., May 1905, W.V.Fitzgerald 981 ; holo: PERTH; iso: K, MEL, NSW, PERTH.
Synonymy
Racosperma froggattii (Maiden) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 318; 319, fig. 2A–E (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
Illustrations
J.H.Maiden, loc. cit .; L.Pedley, loc. cit .; M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 2: 73 (1988); R.S.Cowan & B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 7: 203, fig. 1E–G (1990).
Representative collections
W.A.: Artesian Ra. between Charnley R. gorge and head of Walcott Inlet, 10 Aug. 1943, C.Davis (PERTH); 25.7 km SW of Mount House Stn, M.Lazarides 6450 (DNA, NSW, PERTH). N.T.: 80 km ENE of Coolibah Stn, R.A.Perry & M.Lazarides 2699 (CANB, DNA, NSW, PERTH).
(RSC)
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.
