Common Name

Myall-gidgee, Northern Myall, Shrubby Mulga, Grey Myall, Shrubby Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Widespread in arid central Australia, occurring principally in southern N.T. and north-western S.A. and just crossing into adjoining W.A., with scattered populations extending to south-western Qld and extreme north-western N.S.W.

Description

Rounded shrub or straggly tree 3–5 m high, often many-stemmed from base; canopy spreading and bushy. New shoots resinous, bright green and often yellow appressed-puberulous. Branchlets apically hoary or silvery appressed-puberulous. Phyllodes variable, narrowly linear to linear-oblanceolate or very narrowly elliptic, straight to shallowly curved, 5–14 cm long,1–10 mm wide, normally ±uncinate, coriaceous, densely hoary or silvery appressed-puberulous, obscurely multistriate. Inflorescences 2–5-headed racemes; raceme axes normally 3–15 mm long, yellow or silvery appressed-puberulous; peduncles 2–8 mm long, with indumentum as on raceme axes; heads globular, 3–4 mm diam., 30–60-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals ±free. Pods ±moniliform, to 12 cm long, 4–8 mm wide, ±woody, wrinkled over seeds, appressed-puberulous. Seeds longitudinal, elliptic, 6–8 mm long, dull, khaki-brown; aril clavate.

Habitat

Grows in heavy calcareous soils, often over limestone, along ephemeral watercourses and on degraded sand dunes, in low open woodland and tall open shrubland, often with members of the ‘A. aneura group’.

Specimens

W.A.: Blackstone Ra. area, May 1957, R.Crocker & H.A.Laine (NSW). N.T.: c. 30 km E of Curtin Springs, J.R.Maconochie 2537 (NSW, PERTH). S.A.: 59.5 km S of Kenmore Park HS, N.Forde 896 (PERTH). Qld: 38.6 km W of Adavale, L.Pedley 2495 (PERTH). N.S.W.: Mt Stuart, N.C.W.Beadle 11/1940 (NSW).

Notes

The species was earlier confused with Acacia sericophylla which has longer phyllodes, united sepals, longitudinally striate pods and seeds with conspicuous, orange cap-like aril. Seems allied to A. latzii.

FOA Reference

Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia

Author

R.S.Cowan

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