Acacia granitica Maiden, J. & Proc. Roy. Soc. New South Wales ser. 2, 54: 230 (1921)
Multistemmed, flat-topped, often decumbent, shrub to 3 m high. Bark corrugated towards base. Branchlets angular, dark purplish brown, glabrous, often resinous. Phyllodes linear, straight to shallowly curved, (5–) 8–22 cm long, 1.5–3.5 mm wide, coriaceous, glabrous, with 1–3 inconspicuous main nerves, the minor nerves 7 or 8 per mm, fine, inconspicuous, parallel, not anastomosing,. Peduncles 0.5–3.5 mm long. Spikes 0.3–1 cm long, golden. Flowers 5-merous; calyx 0.5–0.8 mm long, dissected to 1/5, with white hairs at base and brown hairs near apex; corolla 1.4–1.8 mm long, dissected to 1/2, the hairs as on calyx; ovary densely pubescent. Pods straight to slightly curved (often curving and twisting after open), slightly constricted between and raised over seeds, 2.5–8 cm long, 2–3 mm wide, thinly coriaceous to firmly chartaceous, longitudinally ridged, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, narrowly elliptic-oblong, 3–4.5 mm long, black; pleurogram without halo; areole elongate, open.
Mainly occurs in north-eastern N.S.W. NE of Tamworth, extending to Crows Nest, Qld. Grows mostly in shallow sandy soil over granite at higher elevations, also on sandstone near the coast, in open eucalypt forests, occasionally in heaths or along creeks. Flowers late July–mid Oct.
Allied to A. caroleae which has distinctly pedunculate spikes. Also allied to A. abbatiana .
Type of accepted name
Howell, [near Tingha], N.S.W., [1904 in protologue, Aug. 1905 on specimen label], J.H.Maiden & J.L.Boorman ; syn: NSW; Stanthorpe, Qld, July 1904, J.L.Boorman ; syn: BRI, K, NSW; Crow’s Nest, Aug. 1919, F.H.Kenny ; syn: BRI n.v ., NSW.
Synonymy
Acacia granitica is based on the following: A. doratoxylon var. ovata Maiden & Betche, Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales ser. 2, 30: 362 (1905); Racosperma graniticum (Maiden) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 349 (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
Illustrations
B.A.Lebler, Wildfl. SE Queensland 2: 14 (1981); M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 1: 259 (1987); T.Tame, Acacias SE Australia 60, fig. 40; pl. 40 (1992).
Representative collections
Qld: Plunkett, SW of Beenleigh, A.R.Bean 6314 (BRI, MEL, NSW, PERTH); Stanthorpe, July 1904, J.L.Boorman (NSW). N.S.W.: Flagstone Ck crossing, 20.4 km (by road) N along Gulf Rd from Emmaville, R.G.Coveny 14608, R.O.Makinson & A.L.Quirico (BRI, CANB, NSW, PERTH); Fortis Ck, at bridge on Grafton–Coldale road, I.R.Telford 12005 & J.Nightingale (BRI, CANB, NSW, PERTH).
(NSW)
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.
