Acacia leichhardtii Benth., Fl. Austral. 2: 372 (1864)
Leichhardt’s Wattle
Spreading shrub to c. 3 m high; branches slender and often arching downwards. Branchlets pilose to villous. Phyllodes patent to reflexed, narrowly oblong, oblong-elliptic to lanceolate, straight to shallowly incurved, 1.5–3 cm long, 3–6 mm wide, abruptly contracted at base, apiculate, glabrous or sparsely hairy on the prominent midrib and margins, with indumentum sometimes dense or covering lamina; lateral nerves absent or obscure; gland 2–12 mm above pulvinus, sometimes absent. Inflorescences 12–20-headed racemes; raceme axes 3–8 cm long; peduncles 3–8 mm long, glabrous; heads globular, 20–40-flowered, bright golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united. Pods narrowly oblong, curved to straight, to 10 cm long, 8–10 mm wide, firmly chartaceous to thinly coriaceous, densely velvety pilose, dehiscing unilaterally. Seeds longitudinal, oblong to elliptic, 5–6 mm long, black; funicle encircling seed; aril clavate.
Sporadic from the Blackdown Tableland SE to Helidon near Toowoomba, Qld. Grows in shallow soil in sandstone ranges, in Eucalyptus open forest with closed scrub.
The precise taxonomic affinities of this species are unclear, although the seeds encircled by the funicle suggest its inclusion in the ‘ Acacia microbotrya group’. It sometimes resembles A. uncifera .
Type of accepted name
Expedition Ra., Qld, F.W.L.Leichhardt ; holo: K; iso: NSW.
Synonymy
Racosperma leichhardtii (Benth.) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 351 (1987). as for accepted name.
Illustrations
M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 117 & pl. 23 (1981); B.A.Lebler, Wildfl. SE Queensland 2: 57 & colour pl. (1981).
Representative collections
Qld: Isla Gorge Natl Park, 40 km N of Taroom, M.E.Ballingall 2440 (CANB, K, PERTH); 9.6 km N of Helidon, L.Pedley 1404 (BRI).
(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.
