Acacia patagiata R.S.Cowan & Maslin
WATTLE
Acacias of Australia
Family
Fabaceae
Distribution
Common throughout its range from Pingrup E to near Mt Ney in south-western W.A.
Description
Rounded spreading shrub 0.5–2.5 m high. Branchlets glabrous or glabrescent. Phyllodes ascending to erect, elliptic to oblong-oblanceolate, mostly shallowly to strongly incurved, 2.5–5.5 cm long, 3–8 mm wide, acute to obtuse, mucronate, innocuous to coarsely pungent, rigid-coriaceous, ±glaucous, glabrous, with numerous fine parallel venules of equal prominence or more commonly the central nerve more evident than the rest; strong marginal nerves yellow; glands 2 or 3 along adaxial margin. Inflorescences simple, 2 per axil; peduncles (2–) 3–6 (–7) mm long, typically glabrous; heads globular, golden, 4–5 mm diam., 16–24-flowered. Flowers 4‑merous; sepals 1/4–3/4-united. Pods pendent, linear, ±curved, to 9.5 cm long, 2–3.5 mm wide, crustaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, 3.5–4.5 mm long, glossy, dark brown to black; aril apical.
Habitat
Grows in sandy to clayey soils along salt creeks or rivers and at margins of salt lakes and salt pans.
Specimens
W.A.: Pingrup, W.E.Blackall 3082 (PERTH); 37.5 km NNW of Mt Ney, M.A.Burgman 1848 & S.McNee (PERTH); Phillips R. crossing, 17 km W of Ravensthorpe towards Jerramungup, B.R.Maslin 3460 (AD, B, BM, BRI, CANB, G, K, MEL, NSW, PERTH); 25 km ESE of Mt Gibbs, Frank Hann Natl Park, K.Newbey 5421 (PERTH).
Notes
Closely resembling A. lineolata subsp. multilineata and to a lesser extent A. unguicula but it is very distinct by virtue of its tetramerous flowers and by features of the phyllode venation: the main nerves are continuous from base to apex but hardly more distinct than the irregular, crooked, fine lines of the numerous secondary nerves; in addition the marginal nerves are strongly developed and yellow. Also similar to A. mimica.
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 J.Reid
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