Family

Fabaceae

Distribution

Discontinuous, known from only the Howqua R., Carboor East area and near Taradale, Vic.

Description

Shrub to 3 m high, root-suckering. Branchlets not pruinose, glabrous. Phyllodes obovate to oblanceolate, occasionally some almost elliptic, usually slightly asymmetric, 2.5–6.5 cm long, (7–) 10–25 (–32) mm wide, obtuse, glaucous, glabrous, with prominent midrib and marginal nerves, penninerved; gland 5–20 mm above pulvinus, infrequently connected to midrib by an obscure oblique nerve. Inflorescences racemose; raceme axes 1.5–7 cm long, glabrous; peduncles 3–6 mm long, glabrous; heads globular, 15–25-flowered, bright lemon-yellow. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united. Pods ±oblong, rarely constricted between seeds, 4–9 cm long, 10–17 mm wide, thinly coriaceous. Seed transverse, oblong to elliptic, 4–5 mm long, slightly shiny, black; funicle pale brown; aril clavate.

Habitat

Grows on rocky hills in Eucalyptus forest or woodland.

Specimens

Vic: Carboor East–Whorouly South, 5 Aug. 1980, N.A.F.Gibb (MEL); Carboor East, 15 km due SW of Myrtleford, B.R.Maslin 5967 (PERTH); S side of Howqua R., c. 8 km ESE of bridge on Mansfield–Jamieson road, 16 Apr. 1976, J.H.Willis (MEL).

Notes

Acacia sporadica was treated by B.R.Maslin, Fl. Australia 11A: 253 (2001), as Acacia sp. C and by B.R.Maslin, WATTLE Acacias of Australia CD-ROM (2001), as A. affin. penninervis (where it was erroneously referred to Acacia sp. A in the Fl. Australia treatment).

Related to A. penninervis which differs in its longer, infrequently glaucous phyllodes with gland connected to midrib by an obscure oblique nerve, cream to ±white heads and longitudinally orientated, longer seeds. Furthermore, the species distributions do not overlap. May sometimes also resemble A. caerulescens and short phyllode forms of A. obliquinervia.

FOA Reference

Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia

Author

Revised by B.R.Maslin & J.Reid

B.R.Maslin