Acacia leptalea Maslin, Nuytsia 12: 367–368 (1999)
Chinocup Wattle
Shrubs 0.5–2 m tall. Branchlets shortly pilose, raised leaf bases becoming prominent on older parts. Phyllodes crowded, scattered or subverticillate, patent (erect on new shoots), straight, terete or slightly compressed, slender, 5–8 mm long, 0.3–0.4 mm wide, with obliquely narrowed and excentrically mucronulate apex, glabrous or sparsely pilose, the nerves not discernible; glands absent. Inflorescences 1-headed racemes; raceme axis 0.5–1 mm long; peduncles 3–4 mm long, densely pale yellow puberulous; basal bract solitary; heads globular, 4 mm diam. (dry), 25-flowered, golden; bracteoles acuminate, exserted in buds. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 1/2–3/4-united, densely pale yellow puberulous. Pods to 2.5 cm long, 4–5 mm wide, pilose, slightly viscid, dehisced valves curved to sigmoid. Seeds longitudinal, ovate, 3–3.5 mm long, shiny, brown; aril subterminal, clavate.
Known only from near Nyabing, south-western W.A. Grows in sand or sandy loam in open mallee woodland with a dense understorey. Gazetted a rare species in W.A.
Appears most closely related to A. viscifolia , a member of the ‘ A. wilhelmiana group’ which is distinguished most readily by its sparse, appressed peduncle indumentum, small bracteoles that are not acuminate or exserted in buds and narrower, glabrous pods; A. viscifolia also normally has appressed branchlet hairs.
Type of accepted name
Nyabing area [precise locality withheld for conservation reasons], W.A., 21 July 1989, B.R.Maslin 6349 & V.Maslin ; holo: PERTH; iso: BM, BRI, CANB, G, K, MEL, MO, NSW, NY, Z.
Representative collection
W.A.: type locality, K.Newbey 3399 (PERTH).
(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.
