Acacia parvipinnula Tindale, Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales ser. 2, 85: 249 (1960)
Silver-stemmed Wattle
Shrub or tree 2–10 m high. Bark smooth, very silvery or blue-grey. Branchlets terete or angled, surface and unobtrusive ridges with short, rather stiff, somewhat spreading, tawny, white or grey hairs, later often pruinose, dark brown, often glaucous. Young foliage-tips white or yellow, velvety-pubescent. Leaves herbaceous to subcoriaceous, dark green; petiole above pulvinus mostly 0.5–1.7 cm long, flattened vertically, with (1–) 2–4 (–6) oblong or spherical, puberulous glands; rachis 1.5–8 cm long, flattened vertically, usually with a gland at base of all or most pairs of pinnae and 1–3 interjugary, oblong or spherical, often contiguous glands between pairs of pinnae; pinnae 4–13 pairs, 1–5 cm long; pinnules 13–42 pairs, narrowly oblong to cultrate, mostly 2–4 (–5) mm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, margin and often lower surface sparsely clothed with appressed to spreading white hairs, glabrous above, apex obtuse. Inflorescences in axillary racemes, or terminal or axillary false-panicles. Heads 14–18-flowered, pale yellow; flower buds spreading. Pods slightly and often irregularly more deeply constricted between seeds , 2–17 cm long, 5–9 mm wide, coriaceous, bluish brown or bluish black, glabrous or with minute appressed hairs. 2 n = 26, B.G.Briggs, on M . D.Tindale s.n. (NSW64666).
Occurs in N.S.W. from Hunter R. Valley to S of Goulburn, the coast, tablelands and western slopes as far W as Goulburn R., common in Howes Valley- Colo region and lower slopes of Blue Mtns. Grows in open forest, on plateaux or alluvial flats, on shale, laterite or sandstone. Flowers Sept.–early Dec., sometimes also Apr.–July; fruits mainly Sept.–Jan., Mar.
Acacia parvipinnula is closely allied to A. filicifolia , although the latter is characterised by much broader, bluish, unconstricted pods and there are usually 23–68 pairs of pinnules, also the flowering time is earlier, i.e. late July to Sept., rarely extending into Oct. On the Colo R. flats where both species are common, A. filicifolia has completed flowering before the trees of A. parvipinnula are in flower, this being an important factor in preventing hybridisation. In the northern part of its range, i.e. near Cessnock, the latter species flowers earlier than at Colo Heights and Blaxland, where the principal flowering time is Nov.
Also related to A. loroloba .
Type of accepted name
Colo Heights, N.S.W., 15 Nov. 1958, M.D.Tindale s.n. ; holo: NSW; iso: BM, K, L, MEL, US.
Illustrations
A.Fairley & P.Moore, Native Pl. Sydney District 119, pl. 344 (1989); D.A.Morrison & S.J.Davies, in G.J.Harden (ed.), Fl. New South Wales 2: 389 (1991).
Representative collections
N.S.W.: Darkey Ck, 8 miles [12.8 km] SW of Bulga, R.Coveny 4615 (A, B, BRI, BRUX, K, LE, NSW, PERTH, RSA, UC); Menai, G.D’Aubert 414 (MEL, NSW); Broken Back Ra., Hunter Valley, A.V.Slee 2326 (CANB, NSW); 2 miles [3.2 km] E of Kurri Kurri, M.D.Tindale s.n. (NSW64666); Maroota, M.D.Tindale s.n. (NSW52274).
(MDT & 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.
