''Acacia leptopetala'' 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
endemic to an area of south 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 dense and multistemmed shrub typically grows to a height of .
[ The glabrous branchlets are often covered in a fine white powdery coating. 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, glaucous and evergreen phyllodes have a narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblanceolate shape that can be recurved. The phyllodes normally have a length of and a width of and have a raised midrib.[ It produces yellow flowers from November to January.][
]
Taxonomy
The species was first formally described by the botanist George Bentham in 1855 as part of the work ''Plantae Muellerianae: Mimoseae'' as published in the journal ''Linnaea: ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange, oder Beiträge zur Pflanzenkunde''. It was reclassified as ''Racosperma leptopetalum'' in 2003 by Leslie Pedley then transferred back to genus ''Acacia'' in 2006.
Distribution
It is native to an area in the Great Southern, Wheatbelt and Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia where it is commonly found on flats growing in a variety of soils.Nyabing
Nyabing is a small town in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The name is of Aboriginal origin and is thought to derive from the Aboriginal word "ne-yameng", which is the name of an everlasting flower ''Rhodanthe manglesii.''
The ...
in the south west and as far as Ravensthorpe in the east where it is found growing in loamy, clay, sandy loam, sand and sandy gravel soils as a part of mallee scrub.
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9566253
leptopetala
Acacias of Western Australia
Taxa named by George Bentham
Plants described in 1855