''Acacia megacephala'' is a shrub of the genus ''
Acacia'' and the subgenus ''Pulchellae'' 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 else ...
to south western
Australia.
Description
The erect, spindly and spinose shrub typically grows to a height of
[ and has hairy branchlets that usually arch downwards and with axillary spines and linear-triangular shaped ]stipule
In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...
s with a length of The leaves are composed of one pair of pinnae
The auricle or auricula is the visible part of the ear that is outside the head. It is also called the pinna (Latin for "wing" or " fin", plural pinnae), a term that is used more in zoology.
Structure
The diagram shows the shape and location ...
with a length of which hold four to six pairs of green-grey and glabrous
Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...
and smooth pinnule
A leaflet (occasionally called foliole) in botany is a leaf-like part of a compound leaf. Though it resembles an entire leaf, a leaflet is not borne on a main plant stem or branch, as a leaf is, but rather on a petiole or a branch of the leaf. ...
s that have a oblanceolate shape with a length of and a width of .[
]
Taxonomy
The species was first formally described in 1972 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 ...
as a part of the work ''Studies in the genus Acacia'' 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 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 as ''Racosperma megacephalum'' then returned to genus ''Acacia'' in 2006.
Distribution
It is native to an area in the Mid West
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
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 commonly situated on sandplains growing in sandy or loamy soils.Geraldton
Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth.
At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...
as a part of in mixed scrub and shrubland communities.[
]
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9566806
megacephala
Acacias of Western Australia
Taxa named by Bruce Maslin
Plants described in 1972