Acacia microcarpa F.Muell., Fragm . 1: 6 (1858)
Manna Wattle
Glabrous shrub to 2.5 m high. Branchlets somewhat angled at extremities. Stipules insignificant. Phyllodes normally oblanceolate, sometimes oblong-oblanceolate, elliptic or elliptic-oblanceolate, straight to shallowly incurved, mostly 2–5.5 cm long and 4–10 mm wide with l:w 4–10, obtuse but frequently obliquely so, often retuse, slightly thickened, smooth; midrib not prominent; lateral nerves absent or obscure; glands 2, apical gland adjacent to mucro, lower one near or below phyllode middle, 0.5 mm long and normally shallowly concave. Inflorescences rudimentary 1-headed racemes with axes c. 0.5 mm long, 2–5 per node; peduncles 4–10 mm long, drying yellow or blackish; heads globular, 14–22-flowered, bright mid-golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free. Pods linear, prominently raised over seeds, slightly to prominently curved, to 8 cm long, 2–5 mm wide, firmly chartaceous. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic to widely elliptic-oblong, 3–4 mm long, subnitid, dark brown; aril clavate, 1/4–1/3 length of seed.
Occurs in SE Australia from the Eyre Penin. near Wudinna, S.A., E to Mallee Cliffs Natl Park, N.S.W. and to Gunbower, Vic; an isolated occurrence farther E in N.S.W. in the Goolgowi- West Wyalong area. Found in a variety of vegetation formations and soil types.
Acacia halliana was formerly included within this species, fide B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 6: 35–46 (1987). Bentham’s description in Fl. Austral . 2: 357 (1864) contains elements of both species as does the Mueller illustration which is cited above.
Acacia microcarpa together with A. acinacea , A. imbricata , A. praemorsa and A. triquetra comprise the ‘A. microcarpa group’, see B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 6: 39 (1987) and P.Lang & B.R.Maslin, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard . 13: 118 (1990).
Similar to A. praemorsa which has much narrower phyllodes. Short phyllode forms (i.e. c. 2 cm long) may resemble A. triquetra which has branchlets more obviously angled, phyllodes usually with only an apical gland and straight to shallowly curved pods; putative hybrids occur between these two species on the Eyre Peninsula, S.A. Short phyllode forms may also resemble A. acinacea .
Type of accepted name
near Port Lincoln, S.A., C.Wilhelmi ; lecto: MEL616142, fide B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 6: 43 (1987); paralecto: MEL501392 & 61643.
Synonymy
Acacia subretusa Maiden & Blakely, J. & Proc. Roy. Soc. W. Australia 13: 11; pl. 8, figs 7–11 (1928). Type: precise locality unknown, collected on the Victorian Expedition, June 1861, comm. F.Stoward ex Herb. MEL ; holo: NSW.
Illustrations
F. von Mueller, Iconogr. Austral. Acacia dec. 4 [pl. 8] (1887), right-hand flowering twig; D.J.E.Whibley & D.E.Symon, Acacias S. Australia 2nd edn, 79 (1992); T.Tame, Acacias SE Australia 116, fig. 118, pl. 118 (1992).
Representative collections
S.A.: Wudinna, R.H.Kuchel 3302 (AD, PERTH); between Cambrai and Sedan, D.J.E.Whibley 4474 (AD). N.S.W.: 5 km NE of Goolgowi, G.M.Cunningham 3347 & P.L.Milthorpe (NSW, PERTH). Vic.: Big Desert, 21 km N of Broken Bucket bore, M.G.Corrick 6344 (MEL, PERTH); Gunbower, Oct. 1913, Anon. s.n. (MEL1500691).
(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.
