Acacia sciophanes Maslin, Nuytsia 2: 153; 154, fig. 4 & 160, fig. 7 (1977)
Ghost Wattle
Wispy shrub 2– 3 m high. New shoots resinous. Branchlets pendulous, flexuose, minutely sericeous between ribs or glabrous. Phyllodes widely spreading, coarsely filiform, incurved, cruciate in section, 9– 15 cm long, 1– 2 mm diam., innocuous, glabrous, with 4 rib-like, broad, yellowish nerves separated by deep, glaucous furrows. Inflorescences simple, 1 or 2 per axil; peduncles 5– 11 mm long, glabrous, resinous; heads globular, 7– 8 mm diam., subdensely 25– 31-flowered, bright golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 5/6-united. Pods linear, slightly raised over and constricted between seeds, straight to slightly curved, terete, to 11.5 cm long, 2 mm diam., firm-chartaceous, appressed-puberulous except broad margins glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong to elliptic, 3- 5 mm long, glossy, mottled light and dark tan; aril white.
Restricted to the region between Bencubbin and Mukinbudin, south-western W.A. Grows in yellow sand in closed scrub.
Two collections from near the type locality, e.g. B.R.Maslin 4462 (PERTH) and B.R.Maslin 6389 (PERTH, Z), are similar in many characteristics to this species but differ by having branchlets neither pendulous nor flexuose and phyllode furrows densely sericeous. They may represent an undescribed taxon or they may have a hybrid origin.
Related to A. anfractuosa . Similar in appearance to A. merinthophora (sect. Juliflorae ) which has quite different venation in its quadrangular phyllodes, subsessile, obloid to short-cylindrical flower-heads and tetramerous flowers. Acacia tetraneura (sect. Juliflorae ) has a similar phyllode venation to A. sciophanes .
Type of accepted name
15 km W of Mukinbudin towards Welbungin, W.A., 13 Oct. 1975, B.R.Maslin 3970 ; holo: PERTH; iso: AD, B, BM, BRI, CANB, G, K, MEL, NSW, NY, P, PERTH, US.
Synonymy
[ Acacia merinthophora auct. non E.Pritz.: in sched. as A. hynesiana ]
Illustrations
B.R.Maslin, op. cit . 154, fig. 4.
Representative collection
W.A.: near Mukinbudin, W.E.Blackall 848 (PERTH).
(RSC & 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.
