WATTLE

Acacias of Australia

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Acacia legnota Pedley

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Frequent in the Cape Flattery to Cooktown area of coastal Qld with outlying populations in the Iron Ra. area and at Cowley Beach.

Description

Shrub to tree 2–4 (–6) m high. Bark smooth, grey, with prominent white lenticels. Branchlets glabrous. Phyllodes narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate-elliptic, strongly falcate, (10–) 12–18 cm long, 8–19 mm wide, long-attenuate basally, obtuse or acute, mucronulate, thinly coriaceous, glabrous, with 6–8 main nerves and ±sparsely longitudinally anastomosing minor nerves in between. Inflorescences 1- or 2-headed racemes, sometimes simple, 2–4 per axil; raceme axes 2–7 mm long, glabrous; peduncles 10–25 mm long, glabrous; basal bract persistent; heads globular, 5–6 mm diam., c. 35-flowered, cream to pale yellow. Flowers 5-merous; sepals ±free. Pods linear, flat but rounded over seeds along midline, straight, to 12 cm long, 7–11 mm wide, coriaceous, glabrous; margins prominent. Seeds longitudinal, broadly elliptic, c. 5 mm long, dull, dark brown; areole closed; aril clavate.

Habitat

Grows in coastal sands of dunes and in shrubby heathland, often along streams or lagoons.

Specimens

Qld: Iron Ra. Rd about 0.5 km upstream of Brown Ck crossing, P.I.Forster 4155 & D.J.Liddle (BRI); Cowley Beach, M.S.Hopkins 1577 & A.W.Graham (BRI).

Notes

Related to A. johannis. May also resemble A. hylonoma and A. ommatosperma.

FOA Reference

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

Author

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

R.S.Cowan, B.R.Maslin