Acacia pachypoda Maslin, Nuytsia 1: 326, fig. 7 & 330, fig. 9 (1974)
Spreading, much-branched, glabrous shrub to 0.7 m high. Bark light grey. Branchlets rigid, terete, not ribbed, coarsely pungent. Phyllodes mostly patent, terete, 7–26 mm long, c. 1 mm diam., prominently dilated at the sessile base, pungent, rigid, green, nerveless. Inflorescences mostly 2- or 3-headed rudimentary racemes with axes c. 1 mm long, enclosed by conspicuous, imbricate, brown bracts when young, growing out at anthesis; peduncles 5–7 mm long; heads globular, c. 8-flowered, cream; bracteoles absent. Flowers 5-merous; sepals irregularly united almost to the apices into a cupular calyx, minute; petals linear to spathulate, c. 0.2 mm wide. Pods linear, subterete, to 5 cm long, 2–3 mm wide, crustaceous, dark brown. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, 3.5–4 mm long, dark brown; aril terminal, white.
Scattered from near Coolgardie S to the Frank Hann Natl Park and E to near Fraser Ra., south-western W.A. Grows in calcareous loam or sandy loam, on plains or low rocky hills, in Eucalyptus woodland or Mallee communities.
Allied to A. castanostegia . Acacia atrox (N.S.W.) also has distinctively dilated phyllode bases but is not closely related to A. pachypoda.
Type of accepted name
8 km N of Norseman, W.A., 8 Aug. 1951, R.D.Royce 3464; holo: PERTH; iso: K.
Illustrations
B.R.Maslin, op. cit. 326, fig. 7; M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 33 (1981).
Representative collections
W.A.: 6.25 km due NNE of Clyde Hill, M.A.Burgman 1396 & S.McNee ( PERTH); 1 km S of Spargoville towards Norseman, Coolgardie- Esperance Hwy, B.R.Maslin 5036 (PERTH); 27 km S of Tadpole Lake, Frank Hann Natl Park, K.Newbey 5500 (CANB, PERTH); Eyre Hwy, 37 km E of Fraser Ra., 6 Sept. 1963, J.H.Willis s.n. (MEL).
(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.
