Acacia latipes Benth., London J. Bot . 1: 334 (1842)
Diffuse to dense, erect or prostrate shrub 1 m high. Branchlets angled, sometimes glaucous, puberulous, appressed-puberulous or glabrous. Stipules caducous. Phyllodes sessile, patent to inclined, narrowly elliptic to widely elliptic to subtriangular, linear or subulate, straight, recurved or rarely upcurved, 1–5 cm long, 1–7 mm wide, pungent, rigid, often glaucous, glabrous to puberulous, with 3 or 4 distant, raised main nerves. Inflorescences simple, 2–5 per axil; peduncles mostly 5–9 mm long, glabrous, infrequently puberulous; heads globular, 3–5.5 mm diam., 24–67-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free. Pods linear, raised over seeds on alternating sides, constricted between seeds, straight, to 6 cm long, 3.5–6 mm wide, coriaceous, lighter midline on each valve, glabrous or puberulous. Seeds longitudinal, widely elliptic to ovate, 2.8–3.7 mm long, dull, mottled; aril subapical to lateral, galeiform.
Widespread in drier areas of south-western W.A.
Acacia latipes together with A. adnata , A. cochlearis and A. comans constitute the ‘A. latipes group’. Acacia latipes is very similar to A. cochlearis which differs by thinner, consistently green phyllodes with the base often inequilateral and the nerves only slightly raised, as well as by its preferred habitat in beach or dune sands, often in a calcareous substrate. Acacia adnata and A. comans are distinguished from A. latipes by their persistent stipules and commonly smaller phyllodes.
A highly variable species, especially in dimensions and proportions of the phyllodes; two subspecies and a series of variants recognised. The typical subspecies includes all variation except that characteristic of subsp. licina . See R.S.Cowan & B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 12: 462–463 (1999), for a full discussion of variation and synonomy of Acacia latipes .
Phyllodes straight to shallowly recurved, narrowly oblong-elliptic to widely elliptic, subtriangular, linear or subulate, mostly 3.5–8 times longer than wide
subsp. latipes
Phyllodes normally curved upwardly, rarely straight, elongate-linear, 23–40 times longer than wide
subsp. licina
Acacia latipes Benth. subsp. latipes
Phyllodes narrowly oblong-elliptic, elliptic, widely elliptic, subtriangular, linear or subulate, straight to very shallowly recurved, 1–4 cm long, 1.5–7 mm wide, mostly 3.5–8 times as long as wide, often glaucous or subglaucous.
Occurs from Hamelin to Quairading with scattered populations from near Lake King to E of Scaddan, W.A. Grows in sand, sandy loam, loam and lateritic soil, in heath, scrub, shrubland and woodland.
Differing from subsp. licina in having relatively broader phyllodes that are often glaucous.
Type of accepted name
Swan R., W.A., J.Drummond s.n .; holo: K.
Synonymy
Acacia striatula Benth., London J. Bot . 1: 336 (1842). Type: Swan R., W.A., J.Drummond s.n .; holo: K.
Acacia latipes var. pubescens Meisn., in J.G.C.Lehmann, Pl. Preiss. 1: 10 (1844). Type: Quangen, (Vic.) [near Wongamine, E of Toodyay], W.A., 20 Mar. 1840, L.Preiss 989 ; lecto: NY, fide B.R.Maslin & R.S.Cowan, Nuytsia 9: 407 (1994); isolecto: LD.
Representative collections
W.A.: Jarrahdale, Feb. 1968, R.J.Edmiston (PERTH); 7.5 km S of Pithara towards Wongan Hills, B.R Maslin 3373 (PERTH); c. 6 km W of Overlander-Denham road towards Tamala, B.R.Maslin 3684 (AD, B, BM, BRI, CANB, G, K, MEL, MO, NSW, NY, PERTH, W); Kundip area, 17.5 km S of Ravensthorpe, B.R.Maslin 4782 (K, PERTH); c. 77 km due NE of Esperance, Parmango Rd, 16.5 km NE of Fisheries Rd, B.R.Maslin 5833 (PERTH).
Acacia latipes subsp. licina R.S.Cowan & Maslin, Nuytsia 12: 464 (1999)
Phyllodes elongate-linear, straight or more often curved upwardly, 2.5- 5 cm long, 1- 2 mm wide, 23- 40 times as long as wide, glaucous aging green.
Occurs from Port Gregory SE to near Three Springs, W.A. Grows in sand and limestone, in heath and low shrubland.
A collection of C.A.Gardner 1690 , said to have come from Esperance (PERTH00853348), is so at odds with the distribution that we have concluded the label data are almost certainly incorrect, and his collecting books shed no light on the matter.
G.Bentham, Fl. Austral. 2: 326 (1864), referred an Oldfield collection from ‘South Hutt’ [River], near Port Gregory, to his A. striatula , a synonym of A. latipes and very unlike the holotype of A. striatula . The resulting confusion has caused considerable uncertainty concerning the identity of this species. The Oldfield collection represents the northern limit of A. latipes subsp. licina .
Type of accepted name
14.1 miles [22.6 km] S of Mullewa- Geraldton rail crossing on Erangy Springs road, W.A., 30 July 1972, A.M.Ashby 4622 ; holo: PERTH; iso: CANB, K, NSW, NY.
Representative collections
W.A.: 3.7 km from Arrowsmith R. crossing on Dongara- Three Springs road towards Three Springs, E.M.Canning WA/68 3265 (PERTH); 8 km N of Port Gregory- Northampton road towards Kalbarri, R.Cumming 1746 (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.
