Acacia uncinella Benth., Linnaea 26: 613 (1855)
Shrub 0.3–3 m high. Branchlets terete to weakly angled, glabrous or villous to appressed-puberulous and glabrescent. Phyllodes straight or shallowly curved, terete to compressed, 1–3.5 cm long, 0.7–1.5 mm diam., gradually narrowed to a rather delicate, curved, acute to shortly acuminate (0.8–1.5 mm long), glabrous or appressed-puberulous tip, glabrous (sometimes villous on new shoots), with 8 distant, raised to plane nerves (often obscured by surface wrinkling in drying), 3-nerved per face when compressed. Inflorescences simple, 2 per axil; peduncles mostly 4–5 mm long, puberulous to appressed-puberulous or glabrous; heads globular, 2.8–4.5 mm diam., 16–30-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free; petals c. 1/2-united, occasionally free. Pods linear, slightly raised over and constricted between seeds, straight, 4–5 cm long, 2.5–3.5 mm wide, thinly crustaceous, glabrous or appressed-puberulous. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 2.5–3.5 mm long, subnitid, mottled, nigrescent; aril subterminal, crested.
Most common from Ongerup, E to Wittenoom Hills (c. 50 km NNE of Esperance) and N to Anderson Rocks (c. 30 km N of Hyden). Four populations from slightly north of this range have been found near Merredin, Trayning, Bungalla (c. 10 km E of Kellerberrin) and Boorabbin (c. 80 km E of Southern Cross); a collection from Buningonia Spring, S of Zanthus (c. 185 km NE of Norseman), represents the documented easternmost limit of the species. Grows in white or yellow sand, sandy loam or loam, on sandplains or hillslopes in undulating country, in Banksia - Casuarina scrub and Eucalyptus scrub-woodland.
A population centred on Lake King has the flowering branchlets, pulvinus and peduncles white-hairy, fide R.S.Cowan & B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 10: 249 (1995), for discussion.
A member of the ‘ A. fragilis group’, very closely related to A. fragilis which is somewhat arbitrarily distinguished by its longer phyllodes with elongate, tapering acuminate, persistently pubescent apices, generally free petals, and brown seeds. Also related to A. consanguinea and A. ophiolithica .
The Maxwell collection from W. tributary of Oldfield R. cited by G.Bentham, Fl. Austral. 2: 341 (1864), is A. ophiolithica .
Type of accepted name
Interior of W.A., J.S.Roe ; holo: K; iso: PERTH (Fragment ex K).
Representative collections
W.A.: near Boorabbin, T.E.H.Aplin 1935 (B, K, G, NSW, PERTH); 1 km E of Lake King, 6 Oct. 1975, B.R.Maslin 3864 (CANB, K, MEL, NSW, NY, PERTH); c. 3 km N of Bungulla towards Wyalkatchem, B.R.Maslin 3390 (AD, BRI, CANB, G, MO, NSW, PERTH); Hatter Hill, K.Newbey 3295 (MEL, MO, PERTH); 18.5 km N of Hyden on road to Anderson Rocks, J.G. & M.H.Simmons 1309 (PERTH); 33 km E of Lake King at No.1 Rabbit Proof Fence, P.G.Wilson 5750 (K, NSW, PERTH).
(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.
