Acacia veronica Maslin, Nuytsia 7: 43; 44, fig. 1 (1989)
Veronica's Wattle
Aromatic, glabrous shrub or tree usually 3–10 m high. Branchlets finely ribbed, resinous when young. Phyllodes linear to linear-elliptic, straight to shallowly incurved, usually 9–15 cm long, 3–8 mm wide, acute, sometimes subuncinate, thinly coriaceous, 2- or sometimes 3-nerves per face with the central nerve the most pronounced, with secondary nerves sparingly longitudinally anastomosing; gland 0–1 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences 2-headed racemes; raceme axes mostly 2–6 mm long, resinous, normally terminated by a dormant bud; peduncles 8–15 mm long, glabrous, resinous; heads globular, 7–12 mm diam., 24–27-flowered, white to cream. Flowers 4-merous, resinous; sepals 3/4-united, the lobes triangular. Pods linear, to 11 cm long, 5–5.5 mm wide, thinly coriaceous-crustaceous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, 5.5–6 mm long, shiny, dark brown; aril white.
Endemic in the Stirling Ra. Natl Park, c. 80 km N of Albany, south-western W.A. Grows along watercourses in Jarrah- Marri or Wandoo forest or woodland, and also at summit of some high peaks in sheltered sites.
Plants from higher altitudes have short phyllodes (6–8 cm long) and may be only 1.5 m high.
The species seems not to be closely related to any other in W.A. except possibly A. spongolitica ; it sometimes superficially resembles A. cyclops but the relationship is not close. It seems to have some affinities with the eastern Australian species A. baeuerlenii , A. subporosa and A. cognata and, as noted by M.D.Tindale & P.G.Kodela, Austral. Syst. Bot . 4: 579 (1991), is also similar to A. tessellata . Acacia veronica differs from all the above-mentioned species, except A. spongolitica , by its 4-merous flowers.
Type of accepted name
300 m N of Toolbrunup car park, Stirling Ra. Natl Park, W.A., 10 Apr. 1974, A.S.Weston 9170 ; holo: PERTH; iso: CANB, K, MEL, NY, PERTH.
Synonymy
[ Acacia dentifera auct. non Benth.: G.Bentham, Fl. Austral . 2: 361 (1864), as to J.Drummond 5: 7 (FI, G, P, PERTH)]
Illustration
B.R.Maslin, loc. cit.
Representative collections
W.A.: 21 km along Stirling Ra. Scenic Drive from Red Gum Pass, R.J.Cumming 1000 (MEL, PERTH); Mt Trio car park, G.J.Keighery 3382 (PERTH); near Mt Hassell, B.R.Maslin 4013 (PERTH).
(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.
