''Acacia glaucoptera'', commonly known as flat wattle
[ or clay wattle,][ is a species of '']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 ...
'' which is endemic to the south-west 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
It is a spreading or erect shrub which ranges in height from and up to in width. It produces yellow, globular flowers between late winter and early summer.[ It has glabrous straight to slightly flexuose branchlets. ]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 continuous with the branchlets, forming opposite wings with each one extending to the one underneath. Each one is mostly in length and wide. The free portion of phyllode usually . 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 rudimentary with globular flower heads that have a diameter of containing 30 to 80 golden flowers. After flowering black, glabrous, twisted and coiled 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 are formed that are up to long and wide. The seeds are longitudinally arranged in the pods. They are oblong in shape with a length of .
Taxonomy
The species was first formally described by the botanist George Bentham in 1855 as part of the work ''Plantae Muellerianae: Mimoseae'' published in ''Linnaea: ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange, oder Beiträge zur Pflanzenkunde''.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 only to be placed back in the genus ''Acacia'' in 2006.[ Other synonyms include ''Acacia bossiaeoides'' and ''Acacia sinuata.][
''A. glaucoptera'' closely resembles '' Acacia pterocaulon'' but is closely related to '']Acacia bifaria
''Acacia bifaria'' is a shrub belonging to the genus ''Acacia''. It is native to an area along the south coast of Western Australia.
The shrub is a prostrate to semi-prostrate often domed in shape. It typically grows to a height of and a width o ...
'', '' Acacia excentrica'' and ''Acacia merrallii
''Acacia merrallii'', commonly known as Merrall's wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus ''Acacia'' and the subgenus ''Phyllodineae'' that is endemic to south western and southern Australia.
Description
The shrub typically grows to a height o ...
'' even though these species lack the winged branches.[
]
Distribution
The shrub is found over a large area through the Great Southern, southern Wheatbelt and southern Goldfields-Esperance regions. It is found from Arthur River in the west and north to Esperance in the east and south to the coast. It grows in gravelly clay lateritic
Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...
soils.[ The plant is often part of woodland, tall shrubland and mallee communities.][
]
Cultivation
This species is often grown for its unusual "foliage" (its "leaves" are actually cladodes
:''In botany, "Cladodes" may refer to a synonym of the genus '' Alchornea'' or to the plural of " cladode".''
''Cladodes'' is a genus of firefly beetles.
It used to be included in the subfamily Amydetinae, which is probably a highly artifici ...
). It requires good drainage and occasional pruning to remove dead wood. It will withstand temperatures down to -7 °C.
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2712625
glaucoptera
Acacias of Western Australia
Fabales of Australia
Plants described in 1855
Taxa named by George Bentham