Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Very common in Cape York Peninsula Qld, N of c. 15ºS.

Description

Tree to 10 m high. Juvenile plants white- and rusty-pubescent. Bark longitudinally furrowed, grey to dark brown. Branchlets ±flattened towards apices, dark red or brown, slightly pubescent or glabrous; ridges conspicuous, scurfy. Phyllodes lanceolate or narrowly ovate, narrowed at both ends, flat, ±falcate, 11–19 cm long, (10–) 15–30 mm wide, coriaceous, glabrous (softly hairy and scurfy when young), with 3 prominent nerves separate to base and very close to abaxial margin near base (with a subprominent nerve in between these and between the outer prominent nerves and margin); minor nerves longitudinal, often inconspicuous, 9–12 per mm, anastomosing. Inflorescences simple or rudimentary racemes to 0.5 mm long; spikes 3–5 cm long, golden. Flowers 5-merous; calyx 0.6–0.8 mm long, dissected almost to base, densely hairy; corolla 1–1.2 mm long, dissected to 1/2, slightly hairy; ovary pubescent. Pods linear, moniliform, terete, 4–13 cm long, coriaceous-crustaceous, longitudinally striate, glabrous or slightly pubescent, waxy. Seeds longitudinal, ±depressed cylindrical, 2.8–3.7 mm long, brown, with paler, greyish, open areole; pleurogram with halo.

Phenology

Flowers late June to July.

Habitat

Grows along watercourses and in association with Melaleuca viridiflora on deep sandy soils.

Specimens

Qld: Coen–The Archer, I.B.Armitage 1167 (NSW); 98 km S of Cape York, L.J.Brass 19563 (BRI, NSW); 27.5 km NE of Coen on Kennedy road, R.G.Coveny 7046 & P.Hind (A, AD, BRI, CANB, K, L, MEL, NSW, PERTH, TL, US); 0.6 km E of Wenlock R., R.G.Coveny 7081 & P.Hind (B, BRI, CANB, K, L, MEL, NSW, NU, P, UC, US); Pascoe R., P.Hind 1083 & C.K.Ingram (MEL, NSW).

Notes

Acacia brassii is a member of the ‘A. tumida group’, perhaps having close affinities with A. dissimilis.

Details of ecology, utilisation, etc. of A. brassii are given in J.W.Turnbull (ed.), Multipurpose Austral. Trees & Shrubs 114 (1986).

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

Minor edits by B.R.Maslin & J.Rogers