Acacia obtecta Maiden & Blakely
WATTLE
Acacias of Australia
Family
Fabaceae
Distribution
Confined to but locally common in the Paynes Find–Wubin–Kununoppin area of south-western W.A., excluding the type locality at Lake Barlee.
Description
Obconic shrub 1.5–3 m high. Branchlets slightly ribbed, pale grey, glabrous. Phyllodes patent to ascending, linear to linear-oblanceolate, straight to slightly incurved, (6–) 7–11 cm long, (3–) 4–6 (–9) mm wide, with curved-acuminate or caudate-acuminate tip, glabrous, with 3 distant slightly raised nerves per face; minor nerves obscure and sometimes sparingly longitudinally anastomosing; gland (2–) 5–13 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences simple, 1–4 per axil; peduncles 3–5 mm long, glabrous; heads globular, 5 mm diam., 20–36-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free. Pods moniliform, to 14 cm long, 7–9 mm wide, long-stipitate, chartaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, broadly elliptic, 6–7.5 mm long, dull, mottled dark and light brown, exarillate.
Habitat
Grows in red loam or clay.
Specimens
W.A.: Bonnie Rock-Wialki, 11 Sept. 1957, A.R.Main (CANB, PERTH); 20 km S of Paynes Find on Great Northern Hwy, B.R.Maslin 5588 (BRI, K, MEL, NSW, PERTH).
Notes
Seemingly most nearly related to A. speckii which is most readily distinguished by its terete phyllodes. Also similar in appearance to A. heteroclita, which has very different pods with arillate seeds, longer peduncles, usually golden-sericeous new shoots, and phyllodes with appressed-puberulous tips. Superficially similar to A. websteri (sect. Juliflorae).
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
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