''Acacia marramamba'', commonly known as marramamba, is a shrub or tree 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 Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to arid parts of 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 bushy spinescent shrub or tree typically grows to a height of . It has grey coloured bark that is mostly smooth but becomes fissured and fibrous near the base of the tree. It has glabrous red-brown to light brown or orange coloured branchlets with vivid light green new shoots and shiny stipules that are 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 asymmetric and evergreen leathery phyllodes are a pale milk green to blue-green colour and have a rounded upper margin and almost straight lower margin with a length of and a width of . The phyllodes have a main longitudinal nerve and form a needle-sharp point with a length of at the tip. It produces red and yellow flowers from May to July.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist

Bruce Maslin Bruce Roger Maslin (born 3 May 1946) is an Australian botanist, known for his work on ''Acacia'' taxonomy. Born in Bridgetown, Western Australia, he obtained an honours degree in botany from the University of Western Australia in 1967, then to ...

in 1982 as part of the work ''Studies in the genus Acacia (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae). Acacia species of the Hamersley Range area, Western Australia'' as published in the journal ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

''. It was reclassified as ''Racosperma marramamba'' by

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 then transferred back to genus ''Acacia'' in 2006. 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 derived from the area where it is found in the Pilbara in the Marra Mamba Iron Formation.

Distribution

It is native to an area in the

Gascoyne The Gascoyne region is one of the nine administrative regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gasc ...

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

and

Goldfields Goldfield or Goldfields may refer to: Places * Goldfield, Arizona, the former name of Youngberg, Arizona, a populated place in the United States * Goldfield, Colorado, a community in the United States * Goldfield, Iowa, a city in the United Sta ...

regions 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 ...

where it is often situated on rocky hillslopes growing in gravelly and stony skeletal soils often over or around ironstone. It has a scattered distribution with the bulk of the population in the Pilbara from around Duck Creek Station in the north west to Balfour Downs Station to the north east it is also found in the Barlee Range and upper catchments of the

, Ashburton and Murchison Rivers and down to around Mount Fraser in the south. It does not form dense populations it is generally not uncommon throughout its range. It is usually a part of open woodland communities dominated by ''

Eucalyptus leucophloia ''Eucalyptus leucophloia'', commonly known as snappy gum or migum, is a species of small tree or mallee that is endemic to northern Australia. The indigenous Mangarayi and Yangman peoples know the tree as mirndir, the Ngarluma name it as mal ...

'' or tall open shrubland communities where it is associated with ''

Acacia aneura ''Acacia aneura'', commonly known as mulga or true mulga, is a shrub or small tree native to arid outback areas of Australia. It is the dominant tree in the habitat to which it gives its name ( mulga) that occurs across much of inland Australia. ...

'' , '' Acacia sibirica'' and '' Acacia maitlandii'' with a '' spinifex'' understorey.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15287723 marramamba Acacias of Western Australia Taxa named by Bruce Maslin Plants described in 1982

Description

Taxonomy

Distribution

See also

References