Acacia nematophylla F.Muell. ex Benth., Linnaea 26: 612 (1855)
Bushy shrub to c. 2.5 m high. Branchlets angled at extremities, glabrous. Phyllodes ascending to erect, terete to flat and narrowly linear, straight to shallowly curved, normally 2–4 cm long and 0.7–1.5 mm wide, obliquely mucronate to uncinate, grey-green, glabrous, normally finely wrinkled when dry, 4-nerved in all, 1-nerved per face with an impressed or slightly raised midrib when flat. Inflorescences simple, 1 per axil; peduncles 4–15 mm long, glabrous, the base ebracteate; heads globular, 28–41-flowered. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united. Pods linear, to 11 cm long, 5–6 mm wide, coriaceous-crustaceous to subwoody, longitudinally rugose, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong to elliptic, 4–5 mm long, dull to slightly shiny, dark brown to black; funicle 1/2–3/4 encircling seed, reddish brown; aril clavate.
Occurs on coastal dunes in S.A. on the Eyre Penin. (near Drummond Point to Point Boston, also Venus Bay), southern Yorke Penin. (Innestone to Sturt Bay) and Fleurieu Penin. (Cape Jervis).
A member of the ‘ A. microbotrya group’ which until recently was regarded as conspecific with A. calamifolia , fide B.R.Maslin & D.J.E.Whibley, Nuytsia 6: 30–31 (1987). Acacia calamifolia normally has racemose inflorescences; the two species are allopatric, A. nematophylla occurring on coastal dunes and A. calamifolia inland.
Probable hybrids between A. nematophylla and A. anceps are recorded from the southern Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas, fide B.R.Maslin & D.J.E.Whibley, Nuytsia 6: 30–31 (1987). In WATTLE A. anceps x nematophylla is keyed and described as a separate taxon.
The Murray scrub specimens referred to in the protologue of A. nematophylla and under A. bynoeana by G.Bentham, Fl. Austral . 2: 337 (1864), are A. wilhelmiana , fide A.B.Court, Muelleria 2: 160 (1972).
Type of accepted name
Boston Point, S.A., C.Wilhelmi (sphalm. ‘F.Mueller’); holo: K; iso: C, K, MEL. See B.R.Maslin & D.J.E.Whibley, Nuytsia 6: 30 (1987), for discussion of types.
Illustrations
B.R.Maslin & D.J.E.Whibley, op. cit . 24, fig. 2F–H; D.J.E.Whibley & D.E.Symon, Acacias S. Australia 2nd edn, 89 (1992).
Representative collections
S.A.: Port Lincoln Nature Reserve, 4 Dec. 1965, D.Freckelton s.n . (CANB); Sturt Bay, c. 15 km S of Warooka, B.R.Maslin 4538 (PERTH); Cape Jervis, D.E.Mufet 1475 (AD, CBG); Point Drummond- Coffin Bay, N.Perry 822 (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.
