Acacia menzelii J.M.Black, Trans. & Proc. Roy. Soc. S. Australia 41: 45; t. ll, figs 1–6 (1917)
Menzel’s Wattle
Compact, rounded, spreading, resinous, viscid shrub to 2 m high. Branchlets sparsely appressed-puberulous. Phyllodes terete to flat and linear, straight or incurved, 1.5–4 cm long, usually 0.5–1 mm wide, obliquely rounded-truncate with an excentric blunt point, green, glabrous, 6-nerved in all, 2-nerved per face when flat; nerves brownish, impressed, viscid; gland obscure, 0.5–2 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences simple, 1 or 2 per axil; peduncles 3–8 mm long, glabrous; basal bract persistent; heads globular, 20–27-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free to 1/2-united. Pods linear, scarcely constricted between seeds, straight, biconvex, to 5 cm long, 2–3 mm wide, thinly coriaceous-chartaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, c. 4 mm long; aril fleshy.
Discontinuous from Mt Hack, North Flinders Ra., S to Murray Bridge, S.A. Grows in calcareous loamy earths in open Eucalyptus scrub. The N.S.W. record of A. menzelii by G.M.Cunningham et al. , Pl. W New South Wales (1981: 366), is based on a misidentification of a specimen (i.e. G.M.Cunningham & P.L.Milthorpe 2729 , NSW, PERTH) which represents a taxon of uncertain status but perhaps is a hybrid involving A. montana .
D.J.E.Whibley 5993 (AD) from the Lofty Ra. is unusual in having phyllodes c. 1.5 mm wide.
A member of the ‘ A. wilhelmiana group’ which can be confused with narrow phyllode forms of A. wilhelmiana which has the peduncles densely golden appressed-puberulous.
Type of accepted name
Monarto, S.A., 8 Aug. 1897, O.E.Menzel ; syn: AD, K, NSW; Murray Bridge, S.A., Dec. 1909, H.H.D.Griffith ; syn: AD97518363.
Illustrations
J.M.Black, loc. cit .; D.J.E.Whibley, Fl. S. Australia 4th edn, 2: 546 (1986); L.F.Costermans, Native Trees & Shrubs SE Australia 323 (1981); D.J.E.Whibley & D.E.Symon, Acacias S. Australia 2nd edn, 191 (1992).
Representative collections
S.A.: c. 1 km NE of Monarto, P.Lang 8424 (AD);16 km E of Brachina, N.N.Donner 145 (AD); 2.5 km due NE of Mt Hack summit, M.O’Leary 2008 (AD, PERTH); 13.9 km W of Melrose, L.D.Williams 12702 (AD).
(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.
