Acacia volubilis F.Muell., Fragm . 10: 98 (1877)
Tangle Wattle
Branches tortuous, terete, striate-ribbed, glabrous or sparsely appressed-puberulous. Stipules c. 0.5–1 mm long, recurved, subspinose but normally only the hard basal portion remaining as tooth-like projections at most nodes. Phyllodes few and distant, resembling branchlets but not continuous with them although the basal articulation difficult to observe, pentagonal-terete to flat, rudimentary (<1 mm long) to 9 mm long, 1 mm wide, pungent, thick, 5-nerved in all, with prominent midrib, the upper margin 2-nerved, flat, 0.5 mm wide; gland not prominent, subbasal; pulvinus absent. Inflorescences simple; peduncles 0–4 mm long, appressed-puberulous; heads globular, probably c. 10–17-flowered. Flowers 5-merous, rather large; sepals c. 1/2-united, the lobes triangular and fimbriate, the tube glabrous, dark brown and obscurely 5-nerved; petals flabellate-striate. Pods and seeds not seen.
Apart from the type this rare species is known only from a single population near Cunderdin, W.A. Grows in gravelly sandy loam.
In the absence of pods it is difficult to be certain as to the affinities of this species, however, it appears to have some relationship with A. aemula which is distinguished by its non-tortuous branches, longer phyllodes and peduncles and 4-merous flowers.
Specimens of A. carens and A. cummingiana were formerly confounded with this species.
Type of accepted name
‘Boxvale’ [precise locality withheld for conservation reasons], W.A., Julia Wells ; holo: MEL; iso: K, NSW, PERTH.
Representative collections
W.A.: near Cunderdin, B.J.Lepschi BJL2616 & T.Lally (K, MEL, PERTH); B.R.Maslin BRM 7673, B.J.Lepschi & S.G.Webster (AD, CANB, G, K, MEL, NSW, NY, 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.
