Common name: harrow wattle
Acacia acanthoclada subsp. acanthoclada F.Muell. APNI*
Synonyms: Racosperma acanthocladum (F.Muell.) Pedley subsp. acanthocladum APNI*
Description: Erect or spreading shrub 0.3–1.5 m high; bark smooth, grey or occasionally slightly greenish; branchlets ± terete, spinose, densely hairy, often glabrescent.
Phyllodes ± obcuneate, ± straight, 0.2–0.6 cm long, 1–3 mm wide, hairy, 1 or sometimes 2 longitudinal veins ± prominent or faint, lateral veins faint, apex acute to obtuse with a mucro; 1 minute gland to about halfway or sometimes more along margin, often appearing absent; pulvinus < 1 mm long.
Inflorescences 1 in axil of phyllodes on an obscure axis to 0.5 mm long; peduncles 2–8 mm long; heads globose, 20–35-flowered, 4–6 mm diam., bright yellow.
Pods twisted or coiled, ± flat, slightly constricted between seeds, 3–6 cm long, 2–3 mm wide, glabrous; seeds longitudinal; funicle expanded towards seed.
Distribution and occurrence: confined to the far southwest of the State; rare in N.S.W.
Grows in mallee, in deep red sandy soil, often on low sand hills.
NSW subdivisions: SFWP
Other Australian states: Vic. S.A. W.A.
Threatened species: NSW BCA: Endangered
The name refers to the branchlets tapering into sharp points (Greek 'acanthos' meaning spine or thorn; 'clados' being a shoot or young branch).
Text by P.G. Kodela (2004; last updated February 2009)
Taxon concept: B.R. Maslin, Flora of Australia 11A: 480-483 (2001)
|The single subspecies in NSW. Characters and distribution as for the species in NSW.|
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.