''Acacia linarioides'' 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'' that is native to north
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 maximum height of and has a spreading and resinous habit. It has dark grey coloured bark that has a smooth texture and
glabrous angular branchlets. 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. It blooms between January and July producing golden flowers. The cylindrical flower-spikes are found 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 a length of and are packed with golden coloured flowers. The curved and twisted
seed pods that form after flowering are constricted between and raised over the seeds. The pods have a length of and a width of with longitudinally arranged seeds inside. The brown-black coloured seeds have a narrowly oblong-elliptic shape with a length of and have a closed
areole.
Distribution
It is
endemic to the
top end of the
Northern Territory and on a few of the islands in the
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...
where it is found in crevices and on plateaux, alongside creeks and among rocks in thin sandy
sandstone based soils.
[
]
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9566369
linarioides
Flora of the Northern Territory
Taxa named by George Bentham
Plants described in 1842