Acacia tessellata Tindale & Kodela, Austral. Syst. Bot . 4: 579; 580, fig. 1 & 581, fig. 2 (1991)
Tall shrub to small tree 2.5–15 m high. Bark hard, tessellated, mottled, grey or light brown. Branchlets angled, ribbed, almost glabrous, somewhat mealy. Phyllodes linear, straight or slightly curved, 5.5–21 cm long, (1.9–) 3–11 mm wide, with glanduliferous mucro, thinly coriaceous, glabrous, with 2–5 sparsely anastomosing longitudinal veins per mm, the midrib prominent with sometimes a subprominent vein either side; basal gland inconspicuous. Inflorescences simple, 1–3 per axil; peduncles 5–21 mm long, glabrous or mealy and with minute hairs; heads globular, 7–10 mm diam., 17–36-flowered, cream-coloured or very pale yellow. Flowers 5-merous; calyx dissected for 1/9–1/2, slightly ciliolate; corolla dissected for 1/2–2/3, glabrous. Pods linear, slightly raised over seeds, straight-sided or very slightly constricted between seeds, 3.5–14.5 cm long, 4.1–6.3 mm wide, coriaceous, glabrous, resinous. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic-oblong, 4.6–6.5 mm long, glossy, dark brownish black; funicle filiform, folded 1–3 times, expanded into cap-like aril, cream-coloured.
Occurs in N.S.W. on the North Coast to the border with the Northern Tablelands, from McGraths Hump in Bellinger Valley (3024’S, 15249’E) to Werrikimbee Natl Park (3115’S, 15213’E); common at Mt Boss and Mt Banda Banda. Usually found at high altitudes in tall moist eucalypt forest or at the edge of cool temperate Nothofagus rainforest; also in scrub and open forest patches amongst rock outcrops along high ridges. Flowers Jan. & Feb.; fruits June, Nov.–Feb.
See A. veronica .
Type of accepted name
Camerons Forestry Camp (lower slope of Mt Boss), Mt Boss State Forest, 43 km NW of Wauchope, N.S.W., 15 Feb. 1975, R.Coveny 6007, P.Hind & R.Hancock ; holo: NSW; iso: A, AD, B, BM, BRI, CANB, CHR, DAR, G, HO, K, L, LE, MEL, MO, NE, NY, P, PERTH, RSA, TL, UC, UNSW, US, Z.
Illustrations
M.D.Tindale & P.G.Kodela, loc. cit .; T.Tame, Acacias SE Australia 75, fig. 59; pl. 59 (1992).
Representative collections
N.S.W: McGraths Hump, Bellinger Valley, Jan. 1980, J.B.Williams (AD, NE, NSW); Camerons Forestry Camp, Mt Boss (lower slope), 43 km NW of Wauchope, 17 Dec. 1975, J.R.N.Burder (BRI, MO, NSW, PERTH, Z).
(PGK & MDT)
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.
