''Acacia dermatophylla'' 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 ''Phyllodineae'' 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 southern parts 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 ...
.
Description
The open, wispy and single stemmed shrub typically grows to a height of .
[ It has glabrous branchlets with persistent thick, erect stipules with a length of . The evergreen ascending ]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 usually have an oblanceolate shape and a length of and a width of with a prominent midrib and margins.[
]
Taxonomy
The species was first formally described by the botanist George Bentham in 1864 as part of the work '' Flora Australiensis''. It was reclassified as ''Racosperma dermatophyllum'' 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 genus ''Acacia' in 2006.
Distribution
It is native to an area in the Wheatbelt, Goldfields-Esperance and Great Southern regions of Western Australia. The range of ''A dermatophylla'' extends from Lake Grace
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
in the west to past Esperance in the east where it is found on undulating plains and low-lying areas including around salt flats growing in sandy, loamy or clay soils[
]
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9564040
dermatophylla
Acacias of Western Australia
Plants described in 1864
Taxa named by George Bentham