''Acacia sericophylla'' is a shrub or tree commonly known as the desert dogwood, desert oak or cork-bark wattle. To the

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

people of the Pilbara, the Nyangumarta peoples, it is known as Pirrkala. The species is 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 ''Plurinerves''.

Description

The gnarled shrub or tree typically grows to a height of but can be as tall as in Queensland. It usually has a single stem or few mains stems at the base from where it can regenerate after bushfires. It has thick spongy grey to back bark that fissures longitudinally and is spongy and yellow beneath. The brittle branchlets tend to break easily and are covered in fine silvery hairs but becoming

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 ...

with age. 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 silvery grey-green phyllodes are found in clumps at the end of the branchlets and have a long narrowly linear and strap-like appearance. They are flat with a length of and a width of and is somewhat rigid with a leathery texture. The spreading to erect phyllodes are straight or recurved and densely covered in fine silky hair when young but becoming sub-glabrous as they age with many parallel, fine longitudinal nerves that are equally prominent.

Taxonomy

In 1859

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 ...

described this species, and named it ''Acacia sericophylla''. In 1993, Richard Cowan and

Bruce Maslin Bruce Roger Maslin (born 3 May 1946) is an Australian botanist, known for his work on ''Acacia'' taxonomy. Born in Bridgetown, Western Australia, he obtained an honours degree in botany from the University of Western Australia in 1967, then to ...

assigned it to the subspecies, ''Acacia coriacea'' subsp. ''sericophylla''. However, the

Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria (CHAH) is an association of the leaders of herbaria in Australia and New Zealand. It is governed by a constitution. It endorses the taxonomy and nomenclature of the Australian Plant Census, which is the so ...

via the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...

currently (2006) recognises the plant as ''Acacia sericophylla''.

Etymology

The species epithet, ''sericophylla'', derives from the Greek words, ''sericos'' (silken) and ''phyllon'' (leaf), and refers to the dense silky hairs found particularly on the young phyllodes.

Distribution

It is native to an area in 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 ...

and 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 ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

. It is also found in

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 ...

and

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 ...

Gallery

Acacia sericophylla P6130386.jpg Acacia sericophylla bark.jpg Acacia sericophylla.jpg

References

External links

*Se
''Acacia sericophylla'' Pilbara wattles
for further images, and description. {{Taxonbar, from=Q9569116 sericophylla Acacias of Western Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Plants described in 1859