Acacia spirorbis Benth. subsp. solandri (Benth.) Pedley, Austrobaileya 3: 216 (1990)
Tree to c. 12 m high; young plants possibly pubescent. Branchlets slender, glabrous. Phyllodes narrowly elliptic, falcately recurved, 9–17 cm long, 6–16 mm wide, dark green, glabrous, with 2 main longitudinal veins more prominent than the rest and sometimes concurrent with each other near base, the minor veins numerous, 3–5 per mm, subdistant, 0.1–0.3 mm apart, sparingly anastomosing; pulvinus 2–4 mm long, dark-coloured. Inflorescences simple or rudimentary racemes with axes c. 0.5 mm long; peduncles 2 per axil, 5–10 mm long, glabrous; spikes 3–8 cm long, interrupted, creamy. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united with broadly triangular lobes at apices, glabrous; petals strongly reflexed at anthesis; ovary densely hairy. Pods flat, spirally coiled, 3.5–5 mm wide, glabrous, commonly faintly pruinose. Seeds longitudinal or slightly oblique, oblong, 3.5–5 mm long, shiny, dark brown; funicle-aril bright yellow, folded many times below seed.
Occurs on the continental islands off the Qld coast and coastal regions between Townsville and Mackay, extending further S on the islands to Rat Is. near Rockhampton, also inland in the Hillborough Natl Park, SW of Townsville. It occurs on margins of rainforest and on drier sites in eucalypt woodland and open forest. Also recorded from the S coast of New Guinea, fide L.Pedley, Contr. Queensland Herb . 18: 20 (1975). The typical subspecies (which includes A. solandri subsp. kajewskii Pedley) occurs on islands of the Pacific, e.g. New Hebrides, New Caledonia and Loyality Is., fide L.Pedley, Contr. Queensland Herb . 18: 20–21 (1975).
In the absence of pods it could be confused with A. julifera or A. sparsiflora . In general appearance A. spirorbis may resemble A. scopulorum.
The Leichhardt specimen cited by G.Bentham, Fl. Austral . 2: 406 (1864), under A. solandri is A. shirleyi , fide L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 156 (1978).
Type of accepted name
Bay of Inlets, Qld, J.Banks & D.Solander ; holo: BM; iso: NSW.
Synonymy
Acacia solandri Benth., Fl. Austral . 2: 406 (1864); Racosperma spirorbe subsp. solandri (Benth.) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 355 (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
[ Acacia julifera auct. non Benth.: G.Bentham, Fl. Austral . 2: 406 (1864), p.p. , as to Cumberland Islands, R.Brown specimen]
Illustrations
J.H.Maiden, Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland 30: pl. 3 (1918), as A. solandi ; L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 234, fig. 10E (1978).
Representative collections
Qld: Arlie on the Proserpine–Shute Harbour rd, R.Coveny 6922 & P.Hind (PERTH, also AD, B, CANB, K, L, NSW, NU, P, RSA, TL, UC, US but n.v. ); 5 km from Flinders Hwy on rd to Mt Stuart near Townsville, R.Cumming 2944 (PERTH); Hillsborough Natl Park, K.R.McDonald 24 (BRI n.v. ); Rat Is., W.McKenzieBRI196528 (BRI n.v. ).
(BRM & RSC)
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.
