Acacia yorkrakinensis C.A.Gardner, J. Roy. Soc. W. Australia 27: 174 (1942)
Spreading, often rounded, dense to open shrubs or trees 1–4 m high, branching from near ground level. Branchlets often pruinose, glabrous. Phyllodes linear to linear-elliptic or narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblong-elliptic, straight to shallowly curved, 3–16 cm long, 3–13 mm wide, with red to brown margins, the apex mostly acute to acuminate or caudate-acuminate, rarely obtuse, coriaceous, grey-green to glaucous, glabrous, with numerous, fine, closely parallel veins, the midrib the most evident; pulvinus mostly 1.5–3 mm long. Inflorescences 1–4-headed racemes; raceme axes mostly 1–18 mm long, pruinose, glabrous; peduncles 5–13 mm long; spikes 10–22 mm long, 5–7 mm diam., dense, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals 1/2–3/4-united. Pods linear, raised over but not constricted between seeds, to 11 cm long, 4–5.5 mm wide, crustaceous-coriaceous, pruinose, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong-elliptic, 4–5 mm long, glossy, dark brown to black; pleurogram U-shaped; aril terminal, folded.
Extending from Perenjori and Wubin (c. 20 km N of Dalwallinu) SE to near Coolgardie, L. King (c. 115 km E of L. Grace) and Peak Charles (c. 95 km SSW of Norseman), W.A. Grows mainly in sand on plains and low rises in mallee heath and open shrubland.
Very closely related to the generally more north-westerly distributed A. signata which differs largely by its commonly wispy or straggly habit and yellow-margined phyllodes.
Comprised of 2 closely related subspecies which differ principally in phyllode form.
Phyllodes 3–9.5 cm long, 5–13 mm wide, l:w = 3–12, narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblong-elliptic, with acute to obtuse apices
subsp. yorkrakinensis
Phyllodes 8–16 cm long, 3–7 mm wide, l:w = 15–40, linear to linear-elliptic, with acuminate to caudate-acuminate apices
subsp. acrita
Acacia yorkrakinensis C.A.Gardner subsp. yorkrakinensis
Phyllodes narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblong-elliptic, 3–9.5 cm long, 5–13 mm wide, l:w = 3–12, with acute or sometimes obtuse apex, the tip straight to slightly curved.
Restricted to the Yorkrakine-Bungalla area (c. 30 km N to c. 10 km E of Tammin), W.A. Subspecies acrita has a much wider distribution than the typical subspecies, but there is one record of it occurring within the range of subsp. yorkrakinensis . Grows in red or yellow sand or sandy clay in sandplain heath with Eucalyptus spp.and in Acacia shrubland.
Type of accepted name
Yorkrakine, W.A., Aug. 1920, C.A.Gardner s.n .; holo: PERTH.
Representative collections
W.A.: 17.6 km N of Bungalla, 2 Sept. 1936, C.A.Gardner s.n . (NSW, PERTH); 10.5 km N of Bungalla towards Wyalkatchem, B.R.Maslin 3393 (CANB, K, PERTH).
Acacia yorkrakinensis subsp. acrita R.S.Cowan & Maslin, Nuytsia 10: 60 (1995)
Phyllodes linear to linear-elliptic, 8–16 cm long, 3–7 mm wide, l:w = 15–40, with acuminate to caudate-acuminate apex, the tip normally curved.
Widespread from near Perenjori and Wubin SE to near Coolgardie, L. King and Peak Charles, W.A. Grows commonly in yellow sand but also in gravelly sand, gravel, sandy clay and sandy loam in mallee heath, open shrubland and mallee-wattle open scrub on flatlands, gently undulating sandplains and gravelly or rocky rises.
This is the taxon that has been conventionally referred to as A. signata .
Type of accepted name
10 km S of Merredin towards Bruce Rock, W.A., 27 Aug. 1973, B.R.Maslin 3410 ; holo: PERTH; iso: BH, BRI, DNA. Distributed as A. signata F.Muell.
Synonymy
Acacia acuminata var. glaucescens E.Pritz., Bot. Jahrb. Syst . 35: 308 (1904). Type: near Karalee, W.A., L.Diels 5579 ; n.v.
[ Acacia acuminata auct. non Benth.: G.Bentham, Fl. Austral . 2: 404 (1864), p.p ., as to J.Drummond (?4:) 135 , K]
[ Acacia signata auct. non F.Muell.: J.H.Maiden, J. & Proc. Roy. Soc. New South Wales 51: 265 (1917)]
Illustration
M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 2: 249 (1988), as A. signata .
Representative collections
W.A.: 6.8 km E of Carrabin by road, R.Coveny 8355 & B.Habersley (CANB, K, L, NSW, PERTH, UC, US); Yorkrakine, 27 July 1948, C.A.Gardner s.n. (PERTH); 4.8 km S of Perenjori, J.Goodwin 174 (PERTH); 33.6 km W of Coolgardie, J.Goodwin 280 (PERTH); 52.4 km from Wubin towards Mount Magnet, B.R.Maslin 3536A (PERTH); 20 km NE of Peak Charles, c. 40 km NW of Salmon Gums, K.Newbey 6485 (PERTH).
(BRM & 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.
