''Acacia cyperophylla'', commonly known as creekline miniritchie or red mulga, is a

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

. The species' range extends across arid and semi-arid regions of Central Australia, from Carnarvon in

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 ...

to western Queensland and eastern New South Wales. It is commonly found growing in areas of slightly higher soil moisture such as in drainage lines and on the banks of

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s and

creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

Description

Creekline miniritchie grows to a height of about seven metres. It usually has just one or two main trunks. Like most ''

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 ...

'' species, 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. These are rigid, round in cross-section with a diameter of about two millimetres, between ten and fifteen centimetres long, and curved. The flowers are yellow, and held in cylindrical clusters about two centimetres long. The pods are broad and flat, about eight centimetres long and seven millimetres wide. Creekline miniritchie is most readily identified by its distinctive "

minni ritchi Minni ritchi bark on an acacia in the Pilbara region of Western Australia Minni ritchi bark of ''Eucalyptus crucis'' near Wongan Hills Minni ritchi is a type of reddish-brown bark that continuously peels in small curly flakes, leaving the tre ...

" bark, which constantly peels off in small curling flakes, making the tree look like it has a coat of curly hair. On creekline miniritchie, this is an orange-brown colour.

Varieties

There are two varieties, ''A. c.'' var. ''cyperophylla'' and ''A. c.'' var. ''omearana''. The latter variety is known from only a few populations near

Port Hedland A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

, all of which are under threat. ''A. cyperophylla'' var. ''omearana'' has been classified "Priority 1" under the Western Australian

Wildlife Conservation Act The ''Wildlife Conservation Act 1950'' is an act of the Western Australian Parliament that provides the statute relating to conservation and legal protection of flora and fauna. Text was copied from this source, which is available under Attrib ...

, and is under consideration for declaration as "rare flora".

References

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4670918 cyperophylla Fabales of Australia Acacias of Western Australia Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of South Australia Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Plants described in 1864

Description

Varieties

See also

References