''Acacia pachycarpa'' is a tree or 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

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 central and western parts of northern

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 ...

. The

Walmajarri The Walmadjari (Walmajarri) people, also known as Tjiwaling and Wanaseka, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Name The two names reflect different Walmadjari preferences. Their western bands accept ...

people of the Paruku IPA in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

call this wattle Parrayari.

Description

The weeping tree or tall bushy shrub typically grows to a height of . with the ultimate branchlets and phyllodes have a

pendulous This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

habit. It can have a single or many stems and can form a large crowns when growing in favourable conditions. It has hard dark grey coloured bark that is furrowed on main stems but becomes smooth and light grey on the upper branches. It has brittle, glabrous and grey coloured branches. 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 evergreen, broadly linear to narrowly elliptic phyllodess have a length of and a width of . The thinly coriaceous phyllodes resemble a strap and are straight to curved and glabrous with one to five widely spaced main longitudinal nerves with many indistinct minor nerves. It flowers from May to June producing cream-white flowers.

Distribution

It is native to

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

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 ...

with the range extending into western parts of the

top end The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...

and central parts of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. It has a scattered distribution with the bulk of the population situated in the Tanami Desert straddling the border between Western Australian and the Northern Territory. Disjunct populations are found near Onslow from

Yanrey Station Yanrey Station, often referred to as Yanrey, is a pastoral lease that operates as a sheep station. It is located about south east of Exmouth and south of Onslow in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Yanrey occupies an area of and s ...

Minderoo Station Minderoo Station, commonly referred to as Minderoo, is a pastoral lease that once operated as a sheep station but now operates as a cattle station in Western Australia. Description It is situated about south of Onslow and west of Pannawoni ...

and around Telfer. It is often found in cracking clay pans and in clay depressions along drainage lines but also in sandy alluvium type soils in minor watercourses and in clay or sandy loam soils. * List of ''Acacia'' species

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9567660 pachycarpa Acacias of Western Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Plants described in 1864 Taxa named by George Bentham