Acacia nigripilosa Maiden (as ‘nigripilosus’), J. & Proc. Roy. Soc. New South Wales 53: 172; pl. 10, figs 1–8 (1920)
Shrub 0.5–2 m high. Branchlets ash-grey, glabrous. Phyllodes usually ascending to erect, variable, linear to narrowly oblong-elliptic or oblanceolate, flat to terete, 2–7 cm long, 1–8 mm wide, narrowed at base, pungent, subrigid, smooth, dull or somewhat shiny, green or glaucous, glabrous, 4-nerved in all, 1-nerved per face when flat; lateral nerves absent or obscure; gland 0–4 mm above pulvinus; pulvinus dilated at base. Inflorescences 1- or 2-headed racemes, enclosed when young by conspicuous, brown, imbricate bracts; raceme axis 1–3 mm long, growing out at anthesis; peduncles usually 4–10 mm long and glabrous; heads slightly obloid, 18–34-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united at base; petals with sparse, brown to black, appressed hairs. Pods moniliform, sometimes straight-edged, 4–9 cm long, 4–7 mm wide, thinly coriaceous-crustaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic to ovate, c. 4 mm long, shiny, dark brown; aril thick.
Occurs from Yuna S to near Goomalling and E to Mt Holland and near Queen Victoria Rock, south-western W.A.
Probably related to A. inaequiloba and A. ashbyae , but readily distinguished from both, and from all other species of Acacia , by its petals having appressed, scattered, brown to black hairs. Two subspecies are recognised.
Phyllodes 1–5 mm wide, green, somewhat shiny
subsp. nigripilosa
Phyllodes 5–8 mm wide, glaucous to subglaucous, dull
subsp. latifolia
Acacia nigripilosa Maiden subsp. nigripilosa
Phyllodes variable, flat to terete, 2.5–7 cm long, 1–5 mm wide, l:w = 7–50, somewhat shiny, green, normally gradually narrowed to a straight or delicately curved, pungent or subpungent point.
South-western W.A., see species distribution above. Commonly grows in yellow or light brown sand in closed- or open-scrub.
Very variable and may comprise more than one taxon. Typical subsp. nigripilosa occurs from Ballidu E to Mt Holland and near Queen Victoria Rock. Its phyllodes are flat (rhombic in section when very narrow) with a prominent midrib and a delicately curved, subpungent acumen, the new shoots are glabrous and the peduncles normally 4–10 mm long. Variants with terete phyllodes occur between Wubin and Perenjori (e.g. R.Coveny 7876 & B.R.Maslin ). Their phyllodes have straight to curved, often very pungent points and often obscure midribs, the new shoots are glabrous or tomentose. On some specimens from near Wongan Hills and in the Mullewa-Yuna area the phyllodes are broad (to 5 mm wide) and have straight, very pungent points, plants from the latter area may also have peduncles 10–20 mm long and occasionally hairy new shoots (e.g. B.R.Maslin 5080 ). Plants from the Koolanooka Hills often have atypically patent phyllodes (e.g. R.J.Cumming 1916 ).
Type of accepted name
Cowcowing, W.A., Aug. 1904, M.Koch 1030 p.p. ; holo: NSW: iso: A, P, PERTH.
Synonymy
[ Acacia inaequiloba auct. non W.Fitzg.: J.H.Maiden, J. & Proc. Roy. Soc. New South Wales 51: 240 (1917)]
Illustrations
J.H.Maiden, loc. cit. (1920), as A. nigripilosus ; M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 53 (1981).
Representative collections
W.A.: 34.5 km NE of Wubin on Payne’s Find road, R.Coveny 7876 & B.R.Maslin (CANB n.v ., K n.v. , NSW, PERTH); 30 km E of Morawa on road through Koolanooka Hills, R.J.Cumming 1916 (PERTH); 7 km S of Mullewa on road to Mingenew, B.R.Maslin 5080 (CANB, K, MEL, PERTH); 19 km SSW of Queen Victoria Rock, c. 63 km SW of Coolgardie, K.Newbey 6098 (PERTH).
Acacia nigripilosa subsp. latifolia Maslin, Nuytsia 12: 378 (1999)
Phyllodes 2–3.5 cm long, 5–8 mm wide, l:w = 3–6, normally dull and glaucous to subglaucous, rather abruptly narrowed at apex to straight, pungent point.
Occurs between Caron and Maya and NE of Geraldton. Terete phyllode variants of subsp. nigripilosa occur also in the general region of Caron and Maya.
Type of accepted name
Between Caron and Maya [precise locality withheld for conservation reasons], W.A., 23 Aug. 1973, B.R.Maslin 3367 ; holo: PERTH; iso: AD, BM, CANB, G, K, MEL, MO, NSW.
Representative collections
W.A.: N of Caron, M.D.Tindale 2777 (CANB n.v ., K n.v. , L n.v. , MEL n.v. , NSW, PERTH, US n.v. ); road to Mallee Stn, N of Wandana Nature Reserve, c. 120 km NE of Geraldton, P.C.Ryan 165 (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.
