''Acacia ixodes'', commonly known as motherumbung, 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 native to parts of eastern
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 shrub typically grows to a height of and has an erect and spreading habit. It has
glabrous and resinous branchlets that are angled or flattened towards the apices.
[ 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 narrowly elliptic to linear or linear-oblanceolate shaped glabrous to resinous phyllodes are straight to slightly curved with a length of and a width of and has a prominent midvein with faint lateral veins. It produces yellow flowers between August and November. The simple 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 occur singly 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 and have spherical to ovoid shaped flower-heads with a diameter of containing 20 to 30 bright yellow flowers.[
]
Taxonomy
The species was first formally described by the botanist 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 1980 as part of the work '' A revision of Acacia Mill. in Queensland'' as published in the journal '' Austrobaileya''. It was reclassified as ''Racosperma ixodes'' by Pedley in 1987 then transferred back to genus ''Acacia'' in 2001. The only other synonym is ''Acacia gnidium'' var. ''latifolia''.specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
is a reference to the sticky nature of new shoots and immature phyllodes.[
]
Distribution
The shrub has a wide distribution through central New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
extending into Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
. In New South Wales the bulk of the population is situated between Dubbo
Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021.
The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Gol ...
to around Gilgandra
Gilgandra is a country town in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia, and services the surrounding agricultural area where wheat is grown extensively together with other cereal crops, and sheep and beef cattle are raised. Sitting at t ...
and Mendooran
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9565707
ixodes
Flora of New South Wales
Flora of Queensland
Plants described in 1987
Taxa named by Leslie Pedley