''Acacia distans'' is a tree 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 ...

arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ar ...

parts 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 tree typically grows to a height of and has fissured and fibrous grey bark. It has slender

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 ...

slender and sometimes pendulous branchlets with sericeous new shoots with hairs that become silver with age. 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 thinly coriaceous grey-green phyllodes have a linear to curved shape and are in length and a width of wide and are finely striated with a central nerve that is more prominent than the others. It blooms between March and May and produces yellow flowers. The rudimentary

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s form two-headed racemes along an axes with cylindrical flower-spikes that have a length of up to and a diameter of packed with golden flowers. The thinly crustose

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 but are raised over and shallowly constricted between each of the seeds. the pods have a length of up to and a width of . They contain glossy dark brown coloured seeds that have an elliptic to broadly elliptic shape and a length of about .

Distribution

It is native to an area in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

and

Mid West The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

regions 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 ...

where it is commonly found in river beds, hardpans and floodplains where it grows in loam, clay, alluvium and red sandy soils. It has a discontinuous distribution and is often found around the headwaters and upper catchment areas of the

Fortescue Fortescue may refer to: People * Fortescue (surname), a British surname ''Includes list of name-holders'' * Fortescue Ash (1882–1956), Anglican bishop in Australia * Fortescue Graham (1794–1880), British Royal Marines general Places * Fo ...

, Gascyone and Murchison Rivers where it is found on alluvial plains growing in loamy soils as a part of low woodland or shrubland communities and are known to form pure stands.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9564186 distans Acacias of Western Australia Plants described in 1983 Taxa named by Bruce Maslin

Description

Distribution

See also

References