Acacia pachyphloia W.Fitzg., in J.H.Maiden, J. & Proc. Roy. Soc. New South Wales 51: 116 (1917)
Slender shrub or tree 2–10 (–14) m high, with pendulous branches. Bark corky, fissured. Branchlets smooth, glabrous or hairy, becoming corky with furrows. Stipular spines 0.5–6.5 mm long, often inconspicuous. Leaves: petiole 1.2–7.5 cm long, glabrous or hairy, with minute gland at base of lowest pair of pinnae; rachis (0.5–) 1–11.2 (–14.5) cm long, glabrous or hairy, with minute gland at base of all or some pairs of pinnae; pinnae 1–11 pairs, often curved, 4–13.5 (–19.8) cm long; pinnules (8–) 15–54 pairs, mostly well-spaced, narrowly oblong to cultrate, elliptic to narrowly elliptic, narrowly obovate to oblanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, sometimes curved, 3–35 mm long, 1.5–9.5 mm wide, glabrous or sparsely ciliolate mainly near base, with mid-, marginal and lateral nerves visible. Inflorescences simple, 1–4 in axils, or in clusters of 2- 4 (sometimes single) that are widely separated on a (?)terminal, leafy axis to c. 20 cm long (appearing raceme-like due to leaf loss); peduncles 8–55 mm long, with involucel of bracts (1/2–) 2/3 way or above (rarely near) base; heads globular, 19–34-flowered, white or cream-coloured to very pale yellow. Pods cultrate to linear or sometimes narrowly elliptic, straight-sided or constricted between seeds, flat or slightly raised over seeds, (4–) 6–18.3 cm long, 8–15 (–17.5) mm wide, coriaceous to thinly woody, longitudinally nerved, glabrous or puberulous.
Occurs in the N.T. between c. 13S and 16S, and the Kimberley region of W.A. from Cape Londonderry S to near Lombadina and Turkey Creek. Flowers throughout year. Fruits Jan.–Sept. (–Nov.), probably throughout the year. Two subspecies are recognised.
Branchlets, petioles and rachises glabrous or with few scattered hairs; pinnae mostly 1–4 pairs; jugary glands at base of all pairs of pinnae; pinnules mostly 10–25 (–35) mm long, 1.5–7 (–9.5) mm wide; pods glabrous
subsp. pachyphloia
Branchlets, petioles and rachises puberulous to pubescent or sometimes subglabrous; pinnae mostly 2–11 pairs; jugary glands at base of all or only some pairs of pinnae; pinnules 3–10 mm long, 1.5–2.5 mm wide; pods puberulous
subsp. brevipinnula
Acacia pachyphloia W.Fitzg. subsp. pachyphloia
Branchlets glabrous or with few scattered hairs. Leaves: main axis glabrous or with few hairs, the rachis with minute jugary glands at base of all pairs of pinnae; pinnae (1–) 2–4 (- 5) pairs; pinnules up to 31 pairs on pinna-rachis, (7–) 10–25 (–35) mm long (apical pinnules sometimes smaller), 1.5–7 (–9.5) mm wide. Pods glabrous or with a few scattered hairs when immature.
Occurs in the N.T. from c. 13 S near El Sharana and the Stuart Hwy S to c. 16 S near Delamere Stn and E of Katherine in the Roper R. area, and in W.A. from Lombadina on the Dampier Penin. E to Turkey Creek and the Pitt Ra. area. Grows in open woodland with grass understorey, open eucalypt forest or grassland, on gentle hillslopes, rocky outcrops, river levees and flats, in sandy, clay, stony clay loam, lateritic and gravelly soils, on sandstone, limestone and granite.
Specimens from the N.T. with small pinnules similar to subsp. brevipinnula appear to be intermediates, however they are glabrous and are possibly a variant of subsp. pachyphloia (e.g. J.Muspratt 87 , NSW).
Type of accepted name
Hills near c. 92, in proximity to the Synnott [Synnot] Ra. (‘near Synnott Range’ on specimen label), W.A., July 1905, W.V.Fitzgerald 1267 ; lecto: NSW, fide M.D.Tindale & P.G.Kodela, Austral. Syst. Bot . 9: 311 (1996); isolecto: PERTH n.v .; slopes of Bold Bluff, W.V.Fitzgerald ; syn: n.v .; hills by the Charnley and Calder Rivers, W.V.Fitzgerald ; syn: n.v .
Illustrations
J.Brock, Top End Native Pl . 70 (1988); C.R.Dunlop et al ., Fl. Darwin Region 2: 15, fig. 7 (1995); M.D.Tindale & P.G.Kodela, op. cit . 313, fig. 2.
Representative collections
W.A.: S Turkey Creek, near Telecom Tower, I.D.Cowie 1852 (BRI, CANB, DNA, NSW, PERTH); Bell Pass, between Derby and Gibb R., c. 2 miles [3.2 km] E of MRD Campsite, F.Balini B20 (PERTH). N.T.: c. 8 miles [12.9 km] NNE of El Sharana Mine, M.Lazarides 7867 (CANB, K, NSW, PERTH); 17 Mile Valley, Katherine Gorge Natl Park, M.D.Tindale 6029 & C.Dunlop (BRI, CANB, NSW, PERTH); 15 miles [24.2 km] SE of Katherine, M.Lazarides 6973 (CANB, K, NSW).
Acacia pachyphloia subsp. brevipinnula Tindale & Kodela, Austral. Syst. Bot . 9: 314; 315, fig. 3 (1996)
Branchlets puberulous to pubescent, becoming glabrous on older branchlets. Leaves: main axis puberulous to pubescent, sometimes only sparsely hairy, the rachis with jugary glands present at base of all pairs of pinnae or often absent from some pairs of pinnae on leaves with more than 4 pairs of pinnae; pinnae (1- ) 2–11 pairs; pinnules up to 54 pairs on pinna-rachis, 3–10 mm long, 1.5–2.5 mm wide. Pods puberulous.
Occurs in north W.A., from Prince Regent R. Reserve N to Port Warrender and Cape Londonderry, commonly recorded from the Mitchell Plateau. Grows in open forest or grassy woodland, in brown or red soils, on basalt, laterite and sandstone, on flat plateau ridges and hillslopes.
Type of accepted name
26 km N of turnoff to Mitchell Falls along road to Port Warrender, W.A., 14 June 1987, M.McDonald 336 ; holo: NSW; iso: PERTH.
Illustration
M.D.Tindale & P.G.Kodela, loc. cit .
Representative collections
W.A.: Port Warrender, N Kimberley, J.S.Beard 6985 (DNA, PERTH); remote weather stn 29 km N of mining camp, Mitchell Plateau, K.F.Kenneally 8553 (BRI, K, PERTH); Mitchell Plateau area, c. 5 km due SW of Walsh Point, B.R.Maslin 5131 (NSW, PERTH).
(PGK)
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.
