Acacia praetermissa Tindale
WATTLE
Acacias of Australia
Family
Fabaceae
Distribution
Restricted to the Pine Creek–Emerald Springs region of the N.T., although poorly collected.
Description
Multistemmed shrub to 1.8 m high, resprouting from perennial rootstock following fire. Bark smooth, bluish grey, blotched. Branchlets terete, purplish brown, often lightly pruinose; lenticels visible. Phyllodes spreading, very narrowly oblanceolate-elliptic, falcate, 9–15 (–18) cm long, 3–12 (–18) mm wide, with prominent midnerve and 2–4 subprominent parallel nerves; minor nerves 1–3 per mm, loosely anastomosing; gland 1, basal, adjacent to pulvinus. Spikes 1–2.7 cm long, golden. Flowers loosely arranged, 5‑merous. Calyx 0.5–1 mm long, dissected to 1/4–1/2, sparsely fimbriate towards apex; corolla 1.3–1.8 mm long, dissected to 1/3–1/2, glabrous; ovary sparsely pilose. Pods narrowly oblanceolate to ±linear, straight-sided or slightly constricted between seeds, ±flat, 4.5–10.5 cm long, woody, obliquely to longitudinally and reticulately nerved, opening elastically from apex; margins thickened. Seeds slightly oblique, elliptic-oblong or elliptic to orbicular, 5.5–7 mm long, brown; areole open; funicle-aril conical.
Phenology
Flowers Feb.–Aug.
Habitat
Usually on hillsides in lateritic soil or sandy silt in eucalypt woodland.
Specimens
N.T.: 5 miles [8 km] N [of] Pine Creek, N.G.Eddy 120 (DNA, NSW); c. 0.5 km N of Emerald Springs Roadhouse, B.R.Maslin 7348, M.McDonald & G.Leach (NSW, PERTH); 1.5 km N of Emerald Springs, Stuart Hwy, M.D.Tindale 10077, P.Munns & R.T.Turley (B, DNA, MEL, NSW, PERTH).
Notes
Acacia praetermissa can be distinguished from members of the ‘A. stigmatophylla group’ by the very loosely anastomosing minor nerves between the 3–5 parallel main nerves, the ridges of the branchlets which are not minutely crenulated, and the compressed-orbicular seeds.
FOA Reference
Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia
Author
Dr M.D.Tindale and Dr P.G.Kodela with the assistance of M.Bedward, S.J.Davies, C.Herscovitch, D.A.Keith and/or D.A.Morrison
Minor edits by B.R.Maslin
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