''Acacia rubricaulis'' is a 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 native to a small area in north eastern
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 shrub typically grows to a height of . The stout branchlets have a polished appearance and are a dark red colour 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 ...
. The branchlets are usually steeply angled towards the apex. 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 phyllodes have an ovate or elliptic shape and are usually straight or slightly sickle shaped. The glabrous phyllodes have a length of and a width of with three longitudinal nerves that are more prominent than the rest.
When it blooms it produces simple
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
s simple in pairs in the
axil
A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...
s with cylindrical flower-spikes that are sub-densely flowered and have a length of in length but can reach up to in length. The
seed pod
This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnify ...
s that form after flowering are flat and glabrous and have a narrowly oblong shape with a length of and a width of .
[
]
Distribution
It 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 the northern part of Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...
where it is situated on degraded sand dunes, on dune fields and creek banks growing in sandy soils.[
]
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15288759
rubricaulis
Endemic flora of Queensland
Taxa named by Leslie Pedley
Plants described in 2006