Acacia merrickiae Maiden & Blakely (as ‘merrickae’), J. & Proc. Roy. Soc. W. Australia 13: 13; pl. 7, figs 1–8 (1928)
Spindly, open, glabrous, commonly single-stemmed shrub 2–4 m high. Branchlets pruinose, roughened by raised scars of fallen phyllodes. Phyllodes elliptic to ovate, often shallowly concave and reflexed, 1.5–3.5 cm long, 7–15 mm wide, l:w = 1.5–3, acute to subacute, mucronulate, coriaceous, pruinose, glaucous, with slightly raised midrib, subobscurely finely penninerved. Inflorescences axillary and/or terminal racemes, often interspersed with some simple, axillary peduncles; raceme axes 10–40 mm long; peduncles 6–13 (- 25) mm long, often pruinose; heads globular to slightly obloid, 5–6 mm diam., 45–65-flowered, light golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free. Pods linear, rounded over and constricted between seeds, to 6 cm long, 5–6 mm wide, thinly coriaceous, pruinose. Seeds longitudinal, oblong to slightly elliptic, 4 mm long, dull, dark brown; funicle c. 1/2 encircling seed; aril clavate.
Known only from near Kellerberrin and Mukinbudin, W.A. Gazetted a rare species in W.A. Grows in sandy loam and clay in open woodland.
A member of the ‘ A. microbotrya group’ and similar to the pruinose form of A. leptopetala which can be distinguished by its growth habit (dense and multistemmed), smaller flower-heads and by the phyllodes never being shallowly concave, reflexed or broadest below their middle; intermediates occur between the two taxa and also presumed hybrids. Also closely allied to Acacia meisneri .
Type of accepted name
Kellerberrin area [precise locality withheld for conservation reasons], 24 May 1922, W.A., C.A.Gardner 1688 ; holo: NSW; iso: PERTH.
Illustration
J.H.Maiden & W.F.Blakely, loc. cit .
Representative collections
W.A.: NE of Bungalla, 15 Jan. 1967, A.R.Main s.n. (PERTH); Mukinbudin area [precise locality withheld for conservation reasons], P.Roberts 16 (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.
