Common Name

Narrow-leaf Wattle, Long-leaf Wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

A near coastal species occurring principally in the Nambour and Nerang districts of south-eastern Qld with outliers at Gin Gin near Bundaberg and Mt Nebo near Brisbane, the Mullumbimby district on the far northern coast of N.S.W., the Sydney district and in the Batemans Bay-Moruya district on the south coast of N.S.W.

Description

Slender shrub or small spreading tree to 5 m high. Branchlets glabrous or very sparse appressed-puberulous. Stipules scarious, less than 0.5 mm long or obscure. Phyllodes linear to linear-elliptic, commonly straight, (6–) 10–20 (–30) cm long, 1–7 (–10) mm wide, mostly acute, thin, dark green, glabrous; 3–5 (–7) main longitudinal nerves with central one the most prominent, 1-nerved when very narrow, longitudinal anastomoses few or absent; margins yellow; gland obscure or absent; pulvinus present. Inflorescences simple, rarely short racemose; peduncles (3–) 4–10 mm long, glabrous or rarely sparsely appressed puberulous; receptacles glabrous or rarely sparsely hairy; spikes mostly twinned, interrupted, 2.5–5 cm long, white to pale yellow; bracteoles cupular, 0.3–0.5 mm long, glabrous or almost so. Flowers scattered, 4-merous; sepals united; ovary densely tomentulose. Pods subterete, slightly constricted between seeds, straight to shallowly curved, 9–12 cm long, 2–4 mm wide. Seeds narrowly ellipsoid, 5–6 mm long, 2 mm wide, dull brown; funicle thick, folded about 6 times; aril turbinate.

Phenology

It usually flowers Jan.–May but fruits rarely and so far has been noted as fruiting only during Nov.

Habitat

It usually inhabits the borders of rainforests and it is sometimes locally common.

Specimens

Qld: back of Gin Gin, WSW of Bundaberg, Jan. 1931, G.K.Jackson s.n. (BRI); Mt Nebo, Daguilar Ra., I.R.Telford 689 (CANB). N.S.W.: near Broken Head, S of Byron Bay, C.Bell 553 (BRI); Wahroonga, 30 Dec. 1968, C.Burgess s.n. (CANB); c. 1 mile [1.6 km] from Nelligen towards Batemans Bay, E.M.Canning 2853 (CANB, MEL).

Notes

A member of the ‘A. longifolia group’ recognized by its narrow, normally linear phyllodes which, like A. floribunda and sometimes A. mucronata, are characterized by the absence of a gland. Seemingly A. diastemata from northern W.A. is related to A. longissima.

FOA Reference

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

Author

Edited by B.R.Maslin

A.B.Court