''Acacia deltoidea'' is a shrub of 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 ''Plurinerves'' 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 north 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 straggling shrub typically grows to a height of
[ and has glandular-hairy branchlets with persistent subulate upcurved ]stipule
In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...
s with a length of . 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 subsessile, imbricate phyllodes are patent to ascending with a cuneate to elliptic to triangular or broadly obdeltate shape. The leathery and 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 ...
phyllodes are in length and wide and have three to four distant, slightly raised main nerves.[ ] It blooms from March to August and produces yellow flowers.[
]
Taxonomy
There are two recognised 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 ...
:
*''Acacia deltoidea'' subsp. ''ampla''
*''Acacia deltoidea'' subsp. ''deltoidea''
Distribution
It is native to an area in the West 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 ...
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 along the Bonaparte Archipelago
The Bonaparte Archipelago is a group of islands off the coast of Western Australia in the Kimberley region, within the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley. The closest inhabited place is Kalumburu located about to the east of the island group. Th ...
and Napier Bay in the west to around the Phillips Range, Kimberley Downs Station
Kimberley Downs Station, commonly referred to as Kimberley Downs, is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in Western Australia.
Location
Kimberley Downs is situated about east of Derby and northwest of Junjuwa community. It is ...
and Beverley Springs Station in the east.[ It is usually found growing in sandy soils over and around ]sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
and quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...
.[
]
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15289517
deltoidea
Acacias of Western Australia
Taxa named by Allan Cunningham (botanist)
Plants described in 1832