Acacia umbellata A.Cunn. ex Benth., London J. Bot . 1: 378 (1842)
Multistemmed, semiprostrate, resinous shrub to 3 m high or rarely tree 3–6 m (N.T.). Bark stringy, brown or blackish grey. Branchlets terete, grey-brown to dark red-brown, glabrous or scurfy. Young shoots compressed or angular. Phyllodes erect or upcurved, oblique, narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate or narrowly elliptic to broadly elliptic, 5.6–14.5 cm long, 11–43 mm wide, obtuse, glabrous, with 1–3 prominent and 3 or 4 subprominent nerves often confluent with lower margin near base, the minor nerves 8–10 per mm, longitudinal, nonanastomosing; marginal nerve slightly thickened, similar to main nerves; gland 1, small, basal. Spikes 0.7–2 (–3.4) cm long, golden. Flowers 5 (or 6)-merous; calyx 0.7–1.3 mm long, sinuate or dissected to 1/3–1/4, pubescent to subglabrous, the margins fimbriolate; corolla 1.2–2 mm long, dissected to 1/2, glabrous; ovary papillose. Pods in erect clusters, linear, straight-sided, subterete, mostly 1.7–6.2 cm long, 2.5–4 (–5) mm wide, thinly crustaceous, longitudinally furrowed. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic-oblong, 3.5–5 mm long, black.
Widespread in northern N.T. to 19S and on the Gulf of Carpentaria islands, and in coastal and subcoastal Qld, mainly S of Cooktown in the Cook, Burke and N of Kennedy Districts. Grows in dry stony or sandy soil, on creek banks, often in eucalypt woodland on rocky slopes and ridges, on sandstone, quartzite, granite, schist or siltstones. Flowers Apr.–July or throughout year.
There is considerable variation in the shape of the phyllodes. It is allied to A. acradenia which differs in being a spindly shrub with few branches, densely pubescent branchlets, minutely appressed-hairy phyllodes, 2–6.5 cm long spikes and compressed-terete pods to 13 cm long. Also related to A. striatifolia and probably also to A. spania .
Type of accepted name
Cleveland Bay, [Qld], June 1819, A.Cunningham 321 ; syn: K; isosyn: NSW; Cape Flinders, Qld, July 1819, A.Cunningham 322 ; syn: K; Australia, F.Bauer (ex Herb. Mus. Vind. 1837); syn: K (contains a mixture of A. umbellata and probably A. julifera , fide L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 141 (1987)).
Synonymy
Racosperma umbellatum (A.Cunn. ex Benth.) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 356 (1987). Type: as for accepted name.
Acacia acradenia F.Muell., Iconogr. Austral. Acacia dec. 11: [pl. 4], figs 9–13 (1888), p.p. , not as to lectotype, as to paralectotype: Gulf of Carpentaria, F.Mueller 10 and Iconogr. Austral. Acacia dec. 11 [pl. 4] (1888), as to fruiting specimen, fide L.Pedley, op. cit . 137 (1987).
Illustrations
F.Mueller, loc. cit .; M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 1: 271 (1987); J.Brock, Top End Native Pl . 77 (1988); C.R.Dunlop, G.J.Leach & I.D.Cowie, Fl. Darwin Region 2: 21, fig. 10 (1995).
Representative collections
N.T.: Maria Is., C.Dunlop 2909 (NSW, NT); Beswick Ck, on Maranboy–Beswick road, M.D.Tindale 6071 & C.Dunlop (CANB, K, NSW, TL, UNSW, US, Z). Qld: Shute Harbour, R.G.Coveny 6923 & P.Hind (A, AD, BRI, CANB, K, MEL, NSW, UC, US); 2.4 km E of Battle Camp Stn on old Laura–Cooktown road, K.Hill 1923 et al . (BRI, NSW); 64 km W of Cooktown, R.Story 7978 (BRI, CANB, K, 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.
