''Acacia elachantha'' 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''. It is native to arid parts of central and northern Australia.

Description

The shrub is open and spindly and typically grows to a height of . It blooms from July to October producing yellow flowers. The main branches coming from the base are ascending to erect, crowns have sparse foliage are normally open and spreading. The bark on most branches is smooth thin and grey but it does darken and become longitudinally fissured at base of the main mature stems. The silvery to silvery blue-green

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 are falcately recurved over their entire length. Each phyllode is in length and wide. There are one or two simple inflorescences on each axil forming light golden flower spikes that are with flowers densely arranged within. Following flowering red-brown to dark brown linear seed pods form. Each pod is long and and are straight to shallowly curved. The seeds within are obloid and dark brown to black with a yellow anil. ''A. elachantha'' is a fast growing but short-lived species usually dies after five years. It that regenerates rapidly from the large quantities of seed that it produces from an early age.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanists Bruce Maslin and Maurice McDonald in 1997 in the work ''A reappraisal of Acacia cowleana and allied taxa, including the description of a new species, A. elachantha, from the tropical dry-zone of Australia'' as published in the journal ''Australian Systematic Botany''. The type specimen was collected in 1995 by McDonald and P.A.Butcher west of the Cuddapan turn off along Birdsville– Windorah road. The only synonym is ''Racosperma elachanthum'' as described by Leslie Pedley but the name is often misapplied to ''

Acacia cowleana ''Acacia cowleana'', Halls Creek wattle, is a northern Australian native shrub. It is a flowering plant with yellow flowers that only open in winter. Its origin is the Northern Australia's dry tropics. It belongs to the genus of ''Acacia''. Ap ...

''. The species name is taken from the Greek words ''elachys'' meaning ''small'' or ''little'' and ''anthos'' meaning ''flower'' referring to the smaller flower spikes compared to its closest relative ''A. cowleana''.

Distribution

In Western Australia it is found in the

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 ...

and Pilbara regions where it has a scattered distribution. It is also found throughout the Northern Territory extending as far east as central and south west Queensland and into the far north east South Australia. The shrub grows mainly on sandplains in deep red sand or sandy loam soils but also occurs along watercourses or drainage lines, and on low rocky hills or lateritic plains in often skeletal soils. It is often found in disturbed areas such as road verges. It is often part of tall open shrubland communities or in low open woodlands along with species of '' Eucalyptus''.

Uses

''A. elachantha'' can be used for soil rehabilitation as it is drought tolerant, fast growing and grows well in poor soils. The seed of the plant is edible and high nutritious. The bark contains tannins and are astringent and could be used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery. The gum can also be taken to treat diarrhoea and haemorrhoids. The wood can be used for light construction, as fuel or to make charcoal. It also useful as a nitrogen fixing plant.

Aboriginal names and uses

The Walmajarri people of the Paruku IPA in the

call this wattle Parta.

References