''Acacia microbotrya'', commonly known as manna wattle or gum wattle,
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 native to Western Australia.
The
Noongar peoples know the tree as Badjong, Galyang, Koonert or Menna.
Description
The bushy shrub or tree typically grows to a height of
[ with the canopy spreading to a width of .][ It has glabrous branchlets with rough brown bark on the stem. The patent to pendulous grey-green ]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 have a narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate shape. Each olive green glabrous phyllode is and are wide.[ The inflorescences are racemose with the axes having a length of , the cream to pale yellow globular heads containing 20 to 30 flowers have a diameter of . Following flowering dark brown to blackish glabrous seed pods form are constricted at regular intervals resembling a string of beads in shape with a length of and a width of . The shiny black seeds have an oblong to elliptic shape with a length of and a width of .][
]
Taxonomy
The species was first formally described by the botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
George Bentham in 1842 as part of William Jackson Hooker
Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he ...
's work ''Notes on Mimoseae, with a synopsis of species'' as published in the ''London Journal of Botany''. It was reclassified as ''Racosperma microbotryum'' in 2003 by Leslie Pedley then transferred back to the genus ''Acacia'' in 2014.Acacia amblyophylla
''Acacia amblyophylla'' is a shrub belonging to the genus ''Acacia'' and the subgenus ''Phyllodineae'' that is native to an area along the west coast of Western Australia.
Description
The bushy and open shrub typically grows to a height of . The ...
'' and '' Acacia jennerae'' but strongly resembles ''Acacia galeata
''Acacia galeata'' is a shrub or tree of the genus ''Acacia'' and the subgenus ''Plurinerves'' that is endemic to an area of western Australia.
Description
The bushy rounded shrub or tree typically grows to a height of with glabrous branchlets ...
and ''Acacia saligna
''Acacia saligna'', commonly known by various names including coojong, golden wreath wattle, orange wattle, blue-leafed wattle, Western Australian golden wattle, and, in Africa, Port Jackson willow, is a small tree in the family (biology), fami ...
''.[
There are two recognised variations:
*''Acacia microbotrya var. borealis''
*''Acacia microbotrya var. microbotrya''][
]
Distribution
It is native to an area in the Wheatbelt, Great Southern and Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia where it grows among rocky outcrops, near watercourses, around salt lakes and along road verges in clay loam or sandy loam soils often over granite.Lake King
Lake King is a town in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, from Perth along State Route 40 between Kelmscott and Ravensthorpe. As of 2016, the town had a population of 95. The 2011 census recorded both the population of the tow ...
.[
]
Cultivation
The plant is commercially available in seed form or as tubestock Tubestock is the plural term for young plants which have been grown to the point where they are ready for either planting out in the field or potting on to larger pot sizes. Smaller, shallower pots (approx. 50mm in diameter x 80mm deep) are usually ...
. It is commonly used in native gardens as in land rehabilitation an ornamental, as a windbreak, for shelter and for sandalwood. It is fast growing is salt tolerant and will survive in waterlogged areas.
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9566906
microbotrya
Acacias of Western Australia
Plants described in 1842
Taxa named by George Bentham