''Acacia ancistrocarpa'', commonly known as fitzroy wattle, is a shrub 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''. The shrub is also known as fish hook wattle, pindan wattle and shiny leaved wattle. The

Walmajarri The Walmadjari (Walmajarri) people, also known as Tjiwaling and Wanaseka, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Name The two names reflect different Walmadjari preferences. Their western bands accept ...

people of the Paruku IPA in 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 ...

call this wattle, Kampuka.

Description

The shrub can grow to a height of . It flowers from March to August producing yellow flowers. It has multiple stems and a spreading obconic habit. The ultimate branchlets can sometimes be sub-pendulous. The grey bark is mostly smooth but can become fissured longitudinally at the base of mature stems. The bright olive-green

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 have a linear to very narrowly elliptic shape. the blades are in length with a width of . It produces simple

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s simple with spikes scattered over plants with long golden flowers that are not densely arranged. Late it will form narrow and oblong seed pods with a slight curve that are long and wide.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Joseph Maiden Joseph Henry Maiden (25 April 1859 – 16 November 1925) was a botanist who made a major contribution to knowledge of the Australian flora, especially the genus ''Eucalyptus''. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing ...

and

William Blakely William Faris Blakely (November 1875 – 1 September 1941) was an Australian botanist and collector. From 1913 to 1940 he worked in the National Herbarium of New South Wales, working with Joseph Maiden on ''Eucalyptus'', Maiden named a ''red g ...

in 1928 as part of the work ''Descriptions of fifty new species and six varieties of western and northern Australian Acacias, and notes on four other species'' published in the ''

Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia The Royal Society of Western Australia (RSWA) promotes science in Western Australia. The RSWA was founded in 1914. It publishes the ''Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia'', and has awarded the Medal of the Royal Society of Western ...

''. The species name is taken from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word ''ankistron'' meaning ''fish-hook'' and ''karpos'' meaning ''fruit'' referring to the hooked tip of the pod. The type specimen was collected between Minderoo and Globe Hill Station along the Ashburton River in the Pilbara region of Western Australia in 1905 by A.Morrison. ''Acacia ancistrocarpa'' is known to form hybrids with '' Acacia trachycarpa''.

Distribution

It is native to 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 ...

and the

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

regions of

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 ...

, its range extends into far western

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_ ...

. The plant will grown in acidic red sandy soils or skeletal soils and is often found on plains, along creeks,

pindan Pindan is a name given to the red-soil country of the south-western Kimberley region of Western Australia. The term comes from a local language and applies both to the soil and to the vegetation community associated with it.Lowe (2003). History ...

or stony plains usually in spinifex communities. Mostly it will not form dense stands but regenerates readily from seed after ground disturbances or bushfires and then can produce reasonably dense populations.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9562105 ancistrocarpa Acacias of Western Australia Plants described in 1928 Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Taxa named by Joseph Maiden Taxa named by William Blakely

Description

Taxonomy

Distribution

See also

References