''Acacia aspera'', commonly known as rough wattle, is a spreading

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to south-eastern

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 ...

. It grows to up to 2 metres high and has

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 which are 10 to 30 mm long and 2 –4 mm wide. The pale yellow to gold globular flowerheads appear singly or in groups of two in the axils of the phyllodes in July to September, followed by curved or coiled seed pods which are 20 to 70 mm long and 3 to 5 mm wide. The species was first formally described in 1838 by English botanist

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

in ''Three Expeditions into the interior of Eastern Australia'',Lindley, J. in Mitchell, T.L. (1838
Three Expeditions into the interior of Eastern Australia 2: 139
/ref> based on a collection made near present-day

Swan Hill Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At , Swan Hill had a population of 11,508. Indigenous Peopl ...

in Victoria during Thomas Mitchell's 1836 expedition. Two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are currently recognised: *''A. aspera '' Lindl. subsp. ''aspera'' - the nominate subspecies with golden yellow flowerheads and peduncles up to 10mm long. *''A. aspera'' subsp. ''parviceps'' N.G.Walsh - a subspecies from the

Brisbane Ranges The Brisbane Ranges National Park is a national park in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, The national park is situated approximately west of Melbourne near the town of and is managed by Parks Victoria. The park covers par ...

and just south of

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions ...

in Victoria formally described in 2004 with generally longer peduncles (7–15 mm) and cream to pale yellow flowers. Putative hybrids between ''Acacia aspera'' and ''

Acacia montana ''Acacia montana'', commonly known as mallee wattle, is a shrub species endemic to south-eastern Australia. The species was first formally described in 1842 by English botanist George Bentham from plant material collected from the "highlands nea ...

'' have been recorded in the Bendigo Whipstick region. The species occurs in ranges from the Grampians eastward to the

Warby Ranges Warby Range State Park was a Victorian state park just north of Glenrowan. In 2010 the park became part of the newly declared Warby-Ovens National Park. It is in area, and named after Ben Warby, a pastoralist who settled in the area in 1844 ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and from

Yass Yass may refer to: People * Catherine Yass (born 1963), painter * Yazz, a British pop singer from the 1980s and 1990s * Jeff Yass (born 1956), options trader, managing director and one of the five founders of the Philadelphia-based Susquehanna I ...

northward to Peak Hill in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It is found on sandy or gravelly soils in open forest or mallee communities.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4670865

aspera Aspera may refer to: Music * Aspera (band), an American indie rock band * ''(a)spera'', a 2009 album by Mirah * Above Symmetry, a Norwegian progressive metal band originally known as Aspera * "Aspera", the lead track from ''We Will Become Like Bir ...

Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) Fabales of Australia Plants described in 1838 Taxa named by John Lindley