Acacia mackenziei Maslin & R.L.Barrett
Acacia mackenziei Maslin & R.L.Barrett
Norm’s Whorled Wattle
Fabaceae
Occurs in the E Kimberley region, SE of Kununurra, in northern W.A.
Spindly, single-stemmed, sparingly branched, erect shrub 1–2 m tall. Branchlets densely pubescent with short, patent or slightly retrorse hairs. Stipules setaceous to linear-triangular, mostly 1.5–2.5 mm long. Phyllodes 14–20 per whorl, 4–10 mm long, 0.4–0.7 mm wide, apices terminated by a setose point 1–1.5 mm long, ascending to erect to patent, mostly flat, straight to shallowly recurved, pubescent by fine, very short hairs to c. 0.1 mm long; longitudinal nerves 1 or 3 on lower surface. Peduncles 10–17 mm long, pubescent with hairs similar branchlets except less dense. Heads 35–45-flowered; bracteoles narrowly lanceolate, 2.5–3.5 mm long, slightly exserted in buds, glabrous, long-acuminate to caudate. Flowers 5-merous; calyx 1/3–2/5 length of corolla, shortly dissected into 5–10, linear to narrowly triangular lobes; petals 5, striate but sometimes obscurely so, glabrous or sparsely short-hairy at apices. Pods sub-sessile, narrowly oblong, 25–50 mm long, 6–7 mm wide, flat but raised over seeds along midline; marginal nerve thickened. Seeds longitudinal, irregularly obloid to cubic or widely ellipsoid, 4–4.5 mm long, black, slightly shiny.
Paucity of collections prevents a comprehensive assessment of phenology but seemingly flowers from late ‘wet season’ at the end of Jan., continuing to at least early Apr.; mature pods often occur with flowers.
Known from only a single sandstone range.
Closely related to A. anasilla which is distinguished by its denser and more conspicuous branchlet indumentum, generally longer peduncles and shorter calyx, and phyllodes with longer apical setae and a more conspicuous indumentum of longer hairs. Also related to A. perryi and A. prolata which have ±nerveless phyllodes; A. perryi is further distinguished by its non-setose phyllode mucro, and A. prolata by its normally free sepals that are c. ½ the length of the petals. See B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 24: 190-191 (2014) for further discussion.
Acacia mackenziei is listed as Priority One under Department of Parks and Wildlife Conservation Codes for Western Australian Flora.
Flora of Australia Project
B.R. Maslin
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