''Acacia longissima'', known colloquially as long-leaf wattle
or narrow-leaf 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 ...
'' native to 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 wattle is slender shrub or small and spreading tree that grows to a height of about . It has dry and membranous
stipules that are usually less than in length. 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 thin and dark green phyllodes have a linear and are usually straight with a length of and a width of with three to seven main veins with the midvein that is most prominent. It blooms between January and May and fruits around November.
[
]
Taxonomy
The 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 in reference to the long narrow phyllodes of this particular species.[
]
Distribution
The plant is usually situated near the coast and is found as far north as Nambour and Nerang in south-eastern Queensland extending down the south coastal areas of New South Wales to around Batemans Bay. It is often found to inhabit the borders of rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
s[ or in wet or dry sclerophyll forest communities where it is often found in gullies growing in sandy to clay soils.][
]
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
longissima
Fabales of Australia
Flora of New South Wales
Flora of Queensland
Plants described in 1820
{{Australia-rosid-stub