Acacia matthewii Tindale & S.Davies, in M.D.Tindale et al ., Austral. Syst. Bot. 5: 648; 646, fig. 1 & 650, fig. 3 (1992)
Tall shrub or small tree, 3–15 m high, with distinct juvenile and adult foliage. Bark peeling in long thin flakes, reddish brown to grey. Branchlets markedly angular to flattened or triquetrous, light brown to reddish brown, often greenish, glabrous, scurfy; branchlets of juvenile growth terete and densely hairy. Mature phyllodes narrowly elliptic to very narrowly elliptic, falcate to subfalcate, 6–19 cm long, 9–35 mm wide, with acute apex and subglobose mucro, subcoriaceous to coriaceous, bright green and glossy when fresh, glabrous (new growth with dark reddish resin globules and often hairy), with 3 (–5) prominent longitudinal veins separate to base and 3–5 subprominent veins between them, the minor veins 3–7 per mm, very rarely anastomosing; basal gland inconspicuous. Spikes 1–3 on a leafy axillary shoot, 2–6 cm long, dense, bright yellow. Flowers 5-merous; calyx 0.5–0.8 mm long, nearly truncate or dissected to 1/5, densely white-villous mainly on tube, with red-brown or black glandular hairs on apices to c. way down; corolla 1.5–2 mm long, dissected to 1/3–1/2, the petals glabrous, scurfy on apices; ovary pubescent towards apex. Pods linear, flat, straight or sometimes curved, 1.7–10 cm long, 2.5–4 mm wide, coriaceous, longitudinally wrinkled, glabrous, scurfy. Seeds longitudinal, 2.8–5.3 mm long, brown to almost black, with slightly darker areole.
Occurs adjacent to the Hunter Valley region of N.S.W., between 32S and 3330’S, from Rylstone, Kandos and Capertee in the west (150E) to Dharug Natl Park in the east (c. 15110’E); particularly from the area around Mt Yengo and the Howes Valley. Grows mostly in sandy soils on sandstone ridges, steep hillsides, and in gullies, in open eucalypt forest and margins of wet sclerophyll forest; often forming almost pure stands; sometimes on Narrabeen shale lenses. Flowers Aug.–Nov.; fruits Nov.–Dec.
Few mature fruiting specimens of this species have been examined and there appears to be some variation in the colour and texture of the seeds. It is closely related to A. cheelii and A. bulgaensis ; see also A. blakei .
Type of accepted name
12.2 km along Big Yengo–Boree fire trail via ‘Little Wallabadah’, SW of Wollombi, N.S.W., 9 Sept. 1978, R.Coveny 10206 & J.Seur ; holo: NSW; iso: A, AD, B, BM, BRI, CANB, CHR, E, HO, K, L, LE, MEL, MO, NE, NY, PERTH, TNS, UC, UNSW, US, Z.
Illustrations
M.D.Tindale et al ., loc. cit .; T.Tame, Acacias SE Australia 49, fig. 25a; pl. 25a (1992).
Representative collections
N.S.W.: foot of Mt Yengo, E.F.Constable 7178 (A, AD, B, BM, BRI, CANB, CHR, E, K, MO, NE, NY, PERTH, PRE, RSA, TNS, UC, US, UNSW, Z); 21 km W of Wollombi on the Mt Yengo road, R.Coveny 5580 & S.Jacobs (A, AD, B, BRI, CANB, K, L, MEL, NA, NSW, PERTH, RSA); 5.3 km N of Sunny Rd, Newnes Plateau, P.G.Kodela 131, P.D.Hind & C.K.Ingram (BRI, CANB, HO, NE, NSW, PERTH, SYD, UNSW); Ten Mile Hollow, Dharug Natl Park, 1 Jan.1993, P.Matthew (CANB, MEL, NE, NSW) and M.D.Tindale, G.Clancy & P.Weston (NSW216633).
(MDT & PGK)
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.
