Acacia pycnostachya F.Muell. ex Benth., Fl. Austral . 2: 396 (1864)
Pruinose shrub or tree to 7 m high. Bark scaly or slightly corrugated, dark brown over reddish. Branchlets flattened, coarse, 3.5–11 mm wide, purplish, orange-brown or tan, pruinose, sharply angled below phyllodes; ridge decurrent into narrow wing joining abaxial phyllode margin. Phyllodes oblique, narrowly lanceolate-elliptic, or ovate-elliptic, 6–11.5 cm long, 10–27 mm wide, coriaceous, rigid, glabrous, with 3 nerves slightly more prominent, the minor nerves 3–5 per mm, longitudinal, conspicuous, rarely anastomosing; lower margin continuous with branchlet; gland minute, basal. Spikes subsessile, 2.5–7.5 cm long, dense, dark yellow. Flowers 5-merous (rarely 4-merous or with reduced fifth sepal amongst predominantly 5-merous flowers); calyx 0.8–1.1 mm long, sinuate, dissected to 1/5, pubescent especially margins and base, with fimbriolate margins; corolla 2.5–3 mm long, dissected to 1/3, with papillose apices; ovary villous. Pods linear, slightly constricted between and slightly raised over seeds, 8–12 cm long, (2–) 3–4.5 mm wide, longitudinally wrinkled; margins paler. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 4–6 mm long, black; pleurogram inconspicuous.
Occurs on the Northern Tablelands, N.S.W., on the Bolivia Ra., from Bluff Rock (2910’S, 15201’E) to Bolivia Hill (2917’S, 15158’E). There is a specimen collected from Laidley, Moreton District, Qld, J.King (NSW 50214), but according to L.Pedley, Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland 75: 59 (1964) this is probably labelled incorrectly. Grows amongst boulders on granite slopes in sandy soil, in dry heath and Eucalyptus - Callitris woodland. Flowers Aug.–Oct.
Characterised by very coarse, sharply ridged but flattened branchlets.
Type of accepted name
Near Tenterfield, New England, N.S.W., C.Stuart ; ?holo: MEL n.v .; ?iso: NSW.
Synonymy
Acacia pycnostachya F.Muell., Pl. Victoria 2: 33 (1863), nom. inval . (provisional name, not effectively published, fide A.B.Court, R.S.Cowan & B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 9(3): 315–318, 1994); Racosperma pycnostachyum (F.Muell.) Pedley, Bot. J. Linn. Soc . 92: 248 (1986). Type: as for accepted name.
Representative collections
N.S.W.: Shiny Ra., Bolivia, E.F.Constable 7084 (NSW, PERTH); 34.2 km S of Tenterfield, N.Hall H84/51 (NSW); Bolivia Mtn, L.Murray 67, R.G.Coveny & W.Bishop (AD, BRI, CANB, MEL, NSW, NY, PERTH, UC); Bluff Rock, 8 miles [12.8 km] S of Tenterfield, H.Salasoo 5470 (NSW).
(NSW)
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.
