Acacia sclerophylla Lindl. var. sclerophylla
WATTLE
Acacias of Australia
Family
Fabaceae
Distribution
Restricted to a few localities in south-western W.A.; common in S.A. from Streaky Bay, Eyre Peninsula eastwards; uncommon in north-western Vic. and south-western N.S.W.
Description
Branchlets glabrous or occasionally very sparsely uncinate-puberulous as on var. teretiuscula. New shoots glabrous and resinous. Phyllodes linear-oblanceolate to narrowly oblong-oblanceolate and flat, rarely linear and compressed (in S.A. variant), (10–) 20–45 mm long, 2–4 (–5) mm wide (1 mm wide in S.A. variant), glabrous, with 5–7 (–10) longitudinal nerves. Peduncles normally glabrous, rarely very sparsely appressed-hairy (hairs white). Pods curved to twisted, glabrous.
Habitat
Grows principally in mallee eucalypt scrub or woodland in a wide variety of soils, mostly sandy ones, but in loam in W.A.
Specimens
W.A.: 10 km S of Tammin on road to Gardner Reserve, B.R.Maslin 6301 (CANB, K, MEL, PERTH). S.A.: 57.2 km from junction of Flinders Hwy and Poochera road near Streaky Bay, N.Hall H80/70 (NSW, PERTH); c. 24 km due E of Kadina, B.R.Maslin 4526 (PERTH). N.S.W.: near Gol Gol, 16 Sept. 1963, G.White (NSW). Vic.: Big Desert, 8 km S of Murrayville on Nhill road, M.G.Corrick 6388 (MEL, PERTH).
Notes
Sometimes confused with A. wilhelmiana which is readily distinguished by its peduncles which are densely yellow-hairy and normally on very reduced racemes.
Typically this variety has flat linear-oblanceolate phyllodes 2–4 cm long and 2–4 mm wide. However, in S.A., two unusual variants occur: one from the Murray region with linear phyllodes 4–6 cm long (e.g. W.R.Barker 4393, AD, PERTH), the other from the Eyre Peninsula with subterete phyllodes c. 1 mm wide (e.g. B.Copley 2965, AD, PERTH).
The number of phyllode nerves varies from 5 to 7 per face but sometimes 3 are more prominent than the rest.
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, B.R.Maslin
Minor edits by B.R.Maslin, J.Reid & J.Rogers
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