Acacia acradenia foliage and flower buds

''Acacia acradenia'', commonly known as Velvet Hill wattle and silky wattle, is a shrub or tree belonging to the genus ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

'' and the subgenus ''Juliflorae''. It is native to northern and central

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The Indigenous Australian group the Nyangumarta peoples know it as walypuna the

Alyawarr The Alyawarre, also spelt Alyawarr and also known as the Iliaura, are an Aboriginal Australian people, or language group, from the Northern Territory. The Alyawarre are made up of roughly 1,200 associated peoples and actively engage in local tra ...

call it ampwey, the

Jaminjung The Jamindjung, also spelt ''Djamindjung,'' are an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory. Language Jaminjung belongs to the Yirram branch of the non Pama-Nyungan tongues, and is related closely to the language spoken by the Ng ...

and Ngaliwurru know it as Mindiwirri, the Jaru as binbali or gundalyji, the Kaytetye as ampweye or arwele and the

Warlpiri Warlpiri may refer to: * Warlpiri people, an indigenous people of the Tanami Desert, Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Au ...

as ngardurrkura.

Description

The tree or shrub typically grows to a height of but can be as high as . It is generally V-shaped with an open and usually spindly form. It usually divides above ground level to form some main stems that are straight, diagonally spreading to erect and covered in smooth light grey bark except toward the base where it can become longitudinally fissured. The

phyllode Phyllodes are modified petioles or leaf stems, which are leaf-like in appearance and function. In some plants, these become flattened and widened, while the leaf itself becomes reduced or vanishes altogether. Thus the phyllode comes to serve the ...

s are usually obliquely elliptic to narrowly elliptic in shape that becomes narrowed at both ends. The phyllodes can be in length and in width with numerous longitudinal nerves. It can bloom at any time of year but mostly between March and July and October and November producing yellow flowers. Each simple

inflorescences An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

occurs in pairs at the axil of the phyllodes. The flowers-spikes are in length densely packed with golden flowers. Following flowering many

seed pod This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnify ...

s form that are crowded on the receptacles. The pendulous stright to slightly curved pods have a narrowly linear shape and are in length and wide. The shiny brown seeds within have a narrowly obloid to obloid-ellipsoid shape and have a length of around . The species is relatively short lived, is easily killed by fire but sprouts readily from seeds.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

in 1888 as part of the work ''Iconography of Australian Species of Acacia and Cognate Genera Decas''. It was reclassified as ''Racosperma acradenium'' in 1987 by

Leslie Pedley Leslie Pedley (19 May 1930 – 27 November 2018)IPNILeslie Pedley/ref> was an Australian botanist who specialised in the genus ''Acacia''. He is notable for bringing into use the generic name ''Racosperma'', creating a split in the genus, which r ...

then transferred back to the genus ''Acacia'' in 2006. The only other synonyms are ''Acacia curvicarpa'' and ''Acacia acradena''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

is taken from the Greek words ''acron'' meaning ''tip'' and ''adenos'' meaning ''(gland'' which is thought to be referring to gland-like apical point at the tip of the phyllodes. In tropical parts of the Northern Territory and Queensland ''A. acradenia'' is often mistaken for '' Acacia umbellata''. The type specimen was collected by von Mueller near Depot Creek in the Northern Territory.

Distribution

The species is found throughout the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

extending east into

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

as far as Prairie and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. In Western Australia it has a scattered distribution through the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

and northern

Goldfields Goldfield or Goldfields may refer to: Places * Goldfield, Arizona, the former name of Youngberg, Arizona, a populated place in the United States * Goldfield, Colorado, a community in the United States * Goldfield, Iowa, a city in the United Sta ...

regions. It is found on rocky plains or rocky hills, and along watercourses or damp areas. It grows well in stony soils, skeletal loams or clay pans as part of spinifex and '' Eucalypt'' communities. Localized colonies form in areas following disturbance such as fire.

Uses

Indigenous Australians use the species as a food source, water source, shade or shelter and to make weapons and implements.

References

External links

The Australasian Virtual Herbarium – Distribution of ''Acacia acradenia''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q14861081

acradenia ''Acradenia'' is a genus of two species of tree or shrub in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to Australia. These plants have leaves that are trifoliate, arranged in opposite pairs and flowers that have five sepals, five petals and usually ten ...