Acacia riceana Hensl., Botanist 3: t. 135 (1839)
Rice’s Wattle
Prostrate shrub or small tree to 10 m high. Branchlets often pendulous, angular. Phyllodes often fascicled, linear or narrowly lanceolate, hardly acicular, flat, 1.5–5 cm long, 1–3 mm wide, pungent, with 3 veins, one sometimes more prominent, anastomosing veins absent; gland usually basal; pulvinus absent or almost so. Inflorescences with peduncles 5–12 mm long; spikes interrupted, 1.5–3.5 cm long; bracteoles almost sessile, narrowly triangular, 0.7–1 mm long, 0.5–0.7 mm wide. Flowers few, scattered, (3- or) 4-merous; sepals united. Pods linear, constricted between seeds, 6–6.5 cm long, 3–4 mm wide, thin. Seeds elliptic, 4.5–6 mm long, shiny, funicle short, folded several times into a small aril.
Occurring principally in southern Tas. where it is occasionally locally abundant on hillsides in moist forests and often riparian. Flowers July–Jan. and fruits Jan.–Feb.
The differences between A. axillaris and A. riceana are not pronounced but these taxa are here retained as distinct species. In A. axillaris the peduncles are short (<3 mm long), or sometimes almost absent, and the flowers are in clusters or very short spikes (< 6 mm long) while the peduncles of A. riceana are much longer (5–12 mm long) and the spikes 1.5–3.5 mm long. The habit of the two species appears to differ significantly. Acacia axillaris is more or less erect but A. riceana has mostly pendulous branches.
Distinguished from A. verticillata by its much longer phyllodes and spikes of loosely packed flowers.
Type of accepted name
Cultivated in the Cambridge Botanic Garden from seeds of unknown provenance in Van Diemens Land [Tas.]; n.v.
Synonymy
Acacia verticillata var. riceana (Hensl.) L.Neumann in F.Hrincq, Nouv. Jard. 352 (1865); Racosperma riceanum (Hensl.) Pedley, Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 92: 249 (1986). Type: as for accepted name.
Acacia setigera Hook., Icon. Pl. 4: t. 316 (1840), nom. illeg. , non A.Cunn. ex Hook. (1837). Type: New Holland [Australia], without date, C.S.Parker ; n.v.
Acacia axillaris var. macrophylla F.Muell. ex Benth., Linnaea 26: 611 (1855). Type: Tasmania, herb. C.Stuart 618 partim, without date; lecto: MEL, fide A.B.Court (to be published in Appendix to Fl. Australia vol. 11, 2001).
Illustration
M.H.Simmons, Acacias Australia 237 (1981).
Representative collections
Tas.: Degraves, Hobart, R.C.Gunn 1063/1842 (NSW); Barbers Marsh 4 km S of Quoin Mt, A.M.Gray 400 (CANB, HO, MEL); Arve R. Rd 6.5 km from junction with Main Hwy at Geeveston, A.M.Gray 301 (AD, CANB, HO).
(ABC)
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.
