Acacia tephrina Pedley
Acacia tephrina Pedley
Boree
Fabaceae
Disjunct, occurring on Brunchilly and Benmara Stns, Barkly Tableland, N.T., and also in central Qld, mostly W of the Great Divide, from Einasleigh S to near Cunnamulla, but reaching the coast near Bowen.
Tree to 20 m high. Bark fissured and flaky, dark grey. Branchlets densely silvery white appressed-puberulous, often glabrescent. Phyllodes linear, straight to shallowly recurved, 7–11 (–15) cm long, 2–4.5 (–6) mm wide, arcuate-acuminate, densely silvery white appressed-puberulous (the hairs confined to between the nerves with age), with numerous closely parallel fine nerves. Inflorescences 2–10-headed racemes; raceme axes 1–8 mm long, densely appressed-puberulous; peduncles 4–12 mm long, densely appressed-puberulous, with hairs pale yellow ageing white; heads globular, 4.5 mm diam., 20–35-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals at least 3/4-united. Pods linear, ±straight-edged, flat, scarcely raised over seeds, to 6.5 cm long, 5–6 mm wide, coriaceous, densely silvery appressed-puberulous; marginal nerve evident. Seeds longitudinal, 5.5 mm long; aril small.
Grows mainly in heavier soils, including alkaline and saline clays, in tall open woodland and, in drier areas, low woodland and shrubland.
N.T.: c. 2 km N of Benmara HS, B.W.Strong 256 (DNA); No. 11 Bore, Brunchilly Stn, B.W.Strong 318 (DNA). Qld: 42 km S of Bowen on main highway, I.B.Armitage 1190 (NSW, PERTH); 4 miles [6.4 km] SE of Einasleigh, L.Pedley 2113 (BRI n.v., K, NSW).
Related to A. maconochieana. Formerly confused with A. cana. Putatively hybridizes with A. cambagei SW of Longreach, Qld.
Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia
R.S.Cowan, B.R.Maslin
Minor edits by B.R.Maslin
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a mobile application:
URL: https://apps.lucidcentral.org/wattle/
© Copyright 2018. All rights reserved.