Acacia maconochieana Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 235; 236, fig. 1 (1986)
Mullan Wattle
Tree to 12 m high. Bark longitudinally fissured, grey. Branchlets densely silvery white appressed-puberulous towards extremities. Phyllodes linear, 8–18 cm long, 2–5 mm wide, densely silvery white appressed-puberulous, the hairs confined to between the nerves with age, with numerous closely parallel, fine nerves. Inflorescences 2–4-headed racemes; raceme axes 2–3 mm long, appressed-puberulous; peduncles 5–8 mm long, densely appressed-puberulous, the hairs pale yellow ageing white; heads globular, 5 mm diam., 20–25-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 3/4-united. Pods submoniliform, raised over and constricted between seeds, straight, to 13 cm long, 4–5 mm wide, coriaceous, longitudinally reticulate, densely white appressed-puberulous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong to broadly elliptic, 4–6 mm long, black; aril small, white.
Occurs around Gregory Salt Lake, northern W.A., extending E to the Nongra Lake- Tanami area, N.T. Grows mainly in loam and in clay depressions, some of which are periodically waterlogged, in open scrub, low open forest and woodland.
Related to the more easterly distributed A. tephrina with which it was earlier confused but which differs most obviously in its pod characters. See L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 342 (1981) and 2: 235 (1986), for further discussion. The material from Lake Gregory referred to by B.R. Maslin (1981), Fl. Central Australia p. 136 under A. sp. aff. cambagei is A. maconochieana.
Type of accepted name
117 km W of Hookers Ck, N.T., 18 July 1973, J.R.Maconochie 1749 ; holo: BRI; iso: AD, B, CANB, DNA, K, NSW, NT, PERTH.
Synonymy
[ Acacia sp. affin. cambagei ; B.R.Maslin in J.P.Jessop (ed.), Fl. Central Australia p.p. , as to Lake Gregory specimens]
Illustrations
L.Pedley, loc. cit. ; L.A.J.Thomson & N.Hall, CSIRO Division of Forestry & Forest Products Australian Acacias leaflet No. 21 (1989).
Representative collections
W.A.: SW edge of Bilbi Plain, L.Thomson LXT 95 (PERTH). N.T.: Sanctuary Swamp, J.R.Maconochie 2454 (NSW, PERTH).
(RSC & 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.
