''Acacia pravifolia'',
commonly known as the coil-pod wattle,
is a shrub of 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 three areas of
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 intricate and prickly shrub typically grows to a height of .
[ It has hairy, rigid and pungent branchlets. 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 sessile and evergreen phyllodes have a variable and inequilateral shape that is usually obtriangular to obdeltate with a length of and a width of and a prominent midrib.[ It blooms from August to October and produces yellow flowers.][
]
Taxonomy
The species was first formally described by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...
in 1858 as part of the work '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae''. It was reclassified as ''Racosperma pravifolium'' 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 1987 then returned to genus ''Acacia'' in 2006. Other synonyms include '' Acacia prunifolia''.
Distribution
The shrub it has a discontinuous distribution. It is native to an area in the Wheatbelt, Great Southern and Goldfields-Esperance 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 ...
from Israelite Bay
Israelite Bay is a bay and locality on the south coast of Western Australia.
Situated in the Shire of Esperance local government area, it lies east of Esperance and the Cape Arid National Park, within the Nuytsland Nature Reserve and the Grea ...
in the east to Boxwood Hill
Boxwood Hill is a locality in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, situated at the intersection of the South Coast Highway and the Borden-Bremer Bay Road.
The townsite was gazetted in 1963, named after a local shrub, ''Microcorys'' ...
in the south west and Wubin in the north west. It is also found throughout the Mount Lofty Range
The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and ...
and Flinders Range
The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna.
The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabited ...
in South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
from around Angepena Station to around Burra. It is also found in Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
and New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
in the eastern states from between Cobar and Temora in the south to around Tara and Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
. It is often found as a growing in rocky shallow as a part of open shrubland or woodland communities.
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9568182
pravifolia
Acacias of Western Australia
Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller
Flora of South Australia
Plants described in 1858
Flora of New South Wales
Flora of Queensland