''Acacia buxifolia'', commonly known as box-leaf wattle, is shrub species that 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 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 ...

Description

The medium sized evergreen shrub grows to a height of and a width of . The plant has an erect habit with

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

, flattened and angled branchlets. It 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 that are in length and wide. The bright yellow spherical flowerheads appear in groups of 2 to 14 in the axils of the phyllodes from July to November in the species' native range, followed by straight or curved seed pods which are long and .

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist Allan Cunningham in 1825 as part of the work ''On the Botany of the Blue Mountains. Geographical Memoirs on New South Wales''. It was reclassified as ''Racosperma buxifolium'' 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 ...

and transferred back to genus ''Acacia'' in 2006. 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 known; * ''Acacia buxifolia'' subsp. ''buxifolia'' * ''Acacia buxifolia'' subsp. ''pubiflora''.

Distribution

The species occurs in dry sclerophyll forest, woodland or heath in

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 ...

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 ...

and

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_ ...

. It is typically found on hills, slopes and plains inland from the coast and grows in sandy, clay or loam soils.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2583185 buxifolia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (state) Fabales of Australia Plants described in 1825 Taxa named by Allan Cunningham (botanist)