Acacia longispicata Benth., in T.L.Mitchell, J. Exped. Trop. Australia 298 (1848)
Erect, single-stemmed tree to 10 m high. Bark smooth towards top, rough and fibrous at base, dark brownish grey. Branchlets angular, stout, tawny yellow to pale maroon, pruinose, with short appressed hairs. Phyllodes very narrowly elliptic to elliptic, oblique, flat, falcate, 9–19 cm long, 10–44 mm wide, usually larger on juvenile than adult plants, coriaceous, often silvery, usually appressed-puberulous, sometimes glabrous, with 3 main prominent nerves (lower 2 often running together near base) and conspicuous marginal nerves, the minor nerves 2 or 3 per mm, rather widely spaced, anastomosing; gland 1, basal, large, to 1 mm above pulvinus. Spikes 6–12 cm long, golden; rachis mostly glabrous; peduncles with hairs to glabrous. Flowers 5-merous; calyx 0.5–0.8 mm long, dissected to 1/6, pubescent sometimes only at base; corolla 1.5–1.8 mm long, dissected to c. 1/2, glabrous; ovary densely pubescent. Pods slightly moniliform, curved, twisted, terete, 3–11.8 cm long, longitudinally furrowed, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, 2.5–4.5 mm long, dark brown; areole almost closed (further material needed).
Occurs in Qld N of the Mitchell–Theodore area to about Mount Garnet. Grows as scattered trees in eucalypt woodland or open forest, in sandy soils or red earths, occasionally in skeletal soils, often on hillsides; dense pure stands common on roadsides (especially in the Taroom–Theodore area). Flowers June–Aug. in northern populations, late July-Sept. in the south.
Acacia longispicata is one of the taxonomically 'difficult' group of species that also includes A. concurrens , A. crassa , A. leiocalyx and A. tingoorensis . These species constitute part of the 'A. cunninghamii group' (see A. concurrens ). Acacia longispicata also has affinities with A. elachantha , A. cowleana and related species. There is some variation in A. longispicata in the length of the phyllodes and spikes, as well as the density of hairs (see L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 177, 1978).
Type of accepted name
Subtropical New Holland, 5 Sept. 1846, T.Mitchell ‘293’ ; holo: K.
Synonymy
Acacia cunninghamii Hook. var. longispicata (Benth.) Benth., Fl. Austral. 2: 407 (1864); Racosperma longispicatum (Benth.) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 351 (1987); Racosperma longispicatum (Benth.) Pedley, subsp. longispicatum , loc. cit. Type: as for accepted name.
Illustration
M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 1: 281 (1987) ; K.A.W.Williams, Native Pl. Queensland 4: 27 & 29 (1999).
Representative collections
Qld: c. 131 km S of Charters Towers turnoff, Hughenden-Mt Garnet road, P.D.Hind 1061 & C.K.Ingram (CANB, MEL, NSW, PERTH, TL); Lonesome Natl Park, R.Johnstone 724 & S.Davies (BRI, NSW); 11 miles [17.6 km] N of Mt Sturgeon, I.V.Newman 508 (NSW); between Theodore and Taroom, L.Pedley 4161 (BRI, NSW).
(NSW)
The Fl. Australia treatment of A. longispicata has been modified here for WATTLE to exclude A. longispicata subsp. velutina, which is now treated as a distinct species, A. tingoorensis .
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.
