Acacia argyraea Tindale
WATTLE
Acacias of Australia
Family
Fabaceae
Distribution
Occurs in tropical Australia in W.A. and N.T., N of 20ºS, apparently rare in north-western Qld, fide L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 167 (1978).
Description
Shrub or tree to 3 m high, silvery-sericeous. Bark smooth, grey to brown. Branchlets 2- or 3-angled particularly towards apex, bearing dense silky hairs. Phyllodes narrowly elliptic to elliptic, flat, subfalcate, 4–8 cm long, 15–35 mm wide, coriaceous, with 3–6 prominent longitudinal nerves tending to become confluent with ventral margin proximally; minor nerves obscure with few anastomoses; gland 1, basal, reniform, tomentose. Spikes solitary, 1–2.5 cm long, pale yellow. Flowers 5-merous; calyx 1–1.5 mm long, dissected to ±3/5, with lobes densely pubescent; corolla 1.5–2 mm long, dissected to 1/2–3/4, pubescent; ovary densely villous. Pods linear-oblanceolate, flat, 6–8.5 cm long, woody, silvery-velvety to sericeous, opening elastically from apex. Seeds oblique, oblong-elliptic, 4–6.5 mm long, brown; funicle-aril turbinate.
Phenology
Flowers July & Aug.
Habitat
Gregarious, often in shale soils, but also found in laterites and more sandy soils.
Specimens
W.A.: 5 miles [8 km] SSE of Glenroy Meatworks, Kimberleys, M.Lazarides 6435 (CANB, NSW); 95.7 km S of Durham R., near Telegraph Ck, on Great Northern Hwy, M.D.Tindale 10145, P.Munns & R.Turley (AD, B, BRI, CANB, DNA, K, MEL, MO, NSW, NY). N.T.: 29 miles [46.7 km] S of Borroloola Junction towards Anthony Lagoon, N.M.Henry 173 (DNA, NSW); c. 40 miles [65 km] NE of Creswell Stn, R.A.Perry 1679 (CANB, NSW). Qld: between Turn-off Lagoon and Woologorang, Jensen 31 (?BRI), fide L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 167 (1978).
Notes
Acacia argyraea differs from A. limbata and A. lazaridis in its very dense, silvery indumentum.
FOA Reference
Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia
Author
Dr M.D.Tindale and Dr P.G.Kodela with the assistance of M.Bedward, S.J.Davies, C.Herscovitch, D.A.Keith and/or D.A.Morrison
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