''Acacia conniana'' 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'' 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 the southern coast of western
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 bushy shrub typically grows to a height of
[ and has a dense habit. It has dark red-brown to grey coloured bark that is longitudinally fissured at base of main trunks. The glabrous branches have
resinous new tips. Like most species of ''Acacia'' 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 rather than true leaves. The green, ascending to erect phyllodes have a length of with a width of and have a very curved apex The thinly coriaceous phyllodes have a prominent midvein and also two other slightly less prominent veins.[ The cylindrical flower-spikes are found on short axillary branchlets. The spikes have a length of and are densely packed with golden coloured flowers. The ]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 that form after flowering have a linear shape and are raised over each seed. The glabrous, coriaceous to thinly crustaceous pods have a length of up to and a width of . The seeds inside have a length of around with a closed areole.[
]
Taxonomy
The species was first formally described by the botanist Bruce Maslin
Bruce Roger Maslin (born 3 May 1946) is an Australian botanist, known for his work on ''Acacia'' taxonomy.
Born in Bridgetown, Western Australia, he obtained an honours degree in botany from the University of Western Australia in 1967, then to ...
in 1985 as part of the work ''Acacia conniana, a new name for a Western Australian Acacia section Juliflorae species (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae)'' as published in the journal ''Nuytsia
''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...
''. It was reclassified as ''Racosperma connianum'' 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 ...
in 2003 then transferred back to the ''Acacia'' genus in 2006. Other synonyms include ''Acacia cognata'' and ''Acacia acuminata'' var. ''latifolia''.Acacia doratoxylon
''Acacia doratoxylon'', commonly known as currawang, lancewood, spearwood or coast myall, is a shrub or tree belonging to the genus ''Acacia'' and the subgenus ''Juliflorae'' that is native to eastern and south eastern Australia.
Description
...
'' and ''Acacia lasiocalyx
''Acacia lasiocalyx'', commonly known as silver wattle or shaggy wattle, is a tree or shrub belonging to the genus ''Acacia'' and the subgenus ''Juliflorae''.
Taxonomy
The species is closely related to '' Acacia conniana'' which has nonpruinose ...
''.[
]
Distribution
It is native to an area along the south coast of the Goldfields-Esperance region 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 ...
from around the east of Esperance at Cape Le Grand to east of Cape Arid National Park
Cape Arid National Park is a List of national parks of Australia, national park located in Western Australia, southeast of Perth. The park is situated east of Esperance, Western Australia, Esperance and lies on the shore of the South coast of W ...
around Israelite Bay
Israelite Bay is a bay and locality on the south coast of Western Australia.
Situated in the Shire of Esperance local government area, it lies east of Esperance and the Cape Arid National Park, within the Nuytsland Nature Reserve and the Grea ...
where it is found amongst granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
outcrops growing in shallow skeletal soils with isolated populations around Pingelly.[
]
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9563538
conniana
Acacias of Western Australia
Plants described in 1985
Taxa named by Bruce Maslin