Acacia macradenia Benth.
WATTLE
Acacias of Australia
Common Name
Zig-zag Wattle
Family
Fabaceae
Distribution
Widespread in south-eastern Qld from Clermont to Surat with a northern outlier at Torrens Creek, NE of Hughenden.
Description
Shrub or tree 3–5 m high. Branchlets pendulous to subpendulous, flexuose, glabrous. Stipules to 5 mm long, reflexed, indurate at maturity. Phyllodes patent to reflexed, narrowly elliptic to ±narrowly oblong, 13–25 cm long, (0.8–) 1–2.5 (–5) cm wide, narrowed and curved at base, commonly acuminate, glabrous; midrib prominent and contiguous with abaxial margin near base; lateral nerves diverging widely from midrib and anastomosing; gland 0–10 (–15) mm above pulvinus, elongate, sometimes with 1 or 2 additional smaller glands above middle. Inflorescences 8–15-headed racemes, prolific in upper axils; raceme axes 2–5 cm long, glabrous; peduncles 3–6 mm long, ±glabrous; heads globular, densely 35–50-flowered, golden. Flowers 5‑merous; sepals c. 3/4-united. Pods to 12 cm long, 5–6 mm wide, thinly coriaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, ±oblong, c. 4 mm long; funicle-aril about as long as seed.
Habitat
Grows in stony and sandy soil, often near creeks, in woodland or sometimes vine thicket.
Specimens
Qld: 34.9 km along highway from Morven to Roma, N.Hall 82/18 (NSW, PERTH); Blackdown Tableland, 19 km SSE of Bluff, R.W.Johnson 1013 (BRI); Alpha–Tambo, J. & M.Simmons 1103 (PERTH).
Notes
A decorative species, common in cultivation in eastern Australia.
Hybrids between A. macradenia and A. bancroftiorum are noted by L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 95 (1978) and 1: 275 (1979). These hybrids resemble A. holotricha, an uncommon species distinguished by its overall denser indumentum. Hybrids between A. macradenia and A. fimbriata are known in cultivation (e.g. B.R.Maslin 6094, PERTH).
The pods and seeds described by G.Bentham, Fl. Austral. 2: 362 (1864) under A. macradenia are those of A. fasciculifera, fide F.J.H. von Mueller, S. Sci. Rec. 2(7): 150 (1882).
FOA Reference
Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia
Author
B.R.Maslin
Minor edits by J.Rogers
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