''Acacia saxicola'', commonly known as Mount Maroon wattle,
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 ''Phyllodineae'' native to 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 and has a diffuse and multi-branched habit. The sparsely haired or
glabrous branchlets have long
stipules along there length.
[ The branchlets have a rounded cross section.][ Like most species of ''Acacia'' the shrub 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 crowded but scattered evergreen phyllodes are patent to inclined with a lanceolate to narrowly triangular shape that is straight to shallowly recurved. The glossy dark green phyllodes have a length of and a width of and are pungent and rigid with a prominent midrib.[ The tip of the phyllode slowly thins down to a long reddish coloured spine.][ When it blooms it produces ]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 that occur singly along rudimentary racemes. The spherical flower-heads have a diameter of around and contain 40 to 50 densely packed pale golden yellow flowers. Following flowering firmly chartaceous to crustaceous 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 form that have a length of up to and a width of around . The dark brown pods are irregularly undulate, dark brown and contain longitudinally arranged seeds. The seeds have a depressed-globular shape and a length of around .[
]
Taxonomy
The species was first described by the botanist 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 1969 as part of the work ''Notes on Acacia, chiefly from Queensland'' as published in ''Contributions from the Queensland Herbarium''. It was reclassified as ''Racosperma saxicola'' in 1987 by Pedley then transferred back to genus ''Acacia'' in 2001.Acacia ulicifolia
''Acacia ulicifolia'', commonly known as prickly Moses or juniper wattle is a shrub of the genus ''Acacia'' and the subgenus ''Phyllodineae'', native to Australia.
Description
''Acacia ulicifolia'' is decumbent to an erect shrub high, with smoo ...
'' and '' Acacia brachycarpa'' but has wider phyllodes and shorter flower stalks.[
]
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 ...
only in a small area around Mount Maroon in the Mount Barney National Park
Mount Barney National Park is a national park in Queensland (Australia), 90 km southwest of Brisbane. It amalgamated the adjacent Mount Lindesay (Queensland), Mount Lindesay National Park in 1980. It is part of the Scenic Rim Important Bird ...
in south eastern 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_ ...
to the south of Boonah
Boonah is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Boonah had a population of 2,484 people.
Geography
The town is positioned near the Fassifern Valley, McPherson Range and Main Range ...
where it is found at altitudes of around on rocky slopes and in crevices growing in thin sandy-loam soils as a part of heathland communities.[
]
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9568937
saxicola
Flora of Queensland
Plants described in 1969
Taxa named by Leslie Pedley