''Acacia ericifolia'' 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''
endemic to Western Australia.
Description
The spreading shrub typically grows to a height of .
[ The loosely villous branchlets have caducous, connate stipules that are around in length. The fleshy, green, linear to narrowly oblong shaped ]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 planoconvex to horizontally flattened with a length of and a width of .[ The simple inflorescences are found singly or in pairs in the ]axil
A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...
s. The spherical flower-heads have a diameter of containing 18 to 33 golden flowers. The linear seed pods that form after flowering have a length of up to and a width of and contain oblong shaped seeds that are .[
]
Distribution
It is native to an area in the Mid West
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
, Wheatbelt and Great Southern regions of Western Australia between Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
in the north to Lake Grace in the south where it is found on sandplains and coastal cliffs, laterite hills and granite outcrops where it grows in skeletal sandy soils.wandoo Wandoo is the common name for a number of Western Australian ''Eucalyptus'' species, all of which have smooth white bark.
The original "wandoo" is ''Eucalyptus wandoo''. Additional species have been given this name because of a perceived likeness w ...
or marri woodland communities.[
]
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15286924
ericifolia
Acacias of Western Australia
Taxa named by George Bentham
Plants described in 1842