''Acacia myrtifolia'', known colloquially as myrtle wattle, red stem wattle or red-stemmed wattle, is a species of ''

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 nam ...

'' native to coastal areas of southern and eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Description

It is a small, bushy 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 ...

shrub that typically grows to in height and across. It has smooth grey coloured bark. The distinctive red branches are angled upward and have prominent ridges. The green slightly curved phyllodes have an elliptic to narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate shape. Each phyllode is 2–9 cm (1-3½ in) in length and 0.5–3 cm wide. Its flowers are creamy white or pale yellow and appear in winter and spring. The

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 forme ...

is glabrous with globose heads with a diameter of . These are followed by long curved seed pods. The pale pods have prominent margins and are thinly woody to firm and brittle when dry. Shiny brown seeds are arranged longitudinally in the pod. Each seed is narrowly oblong with a length of .

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist

Carl Ludwig von Willdenow Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants. Willdenow was als ...

in 1806 in the work ''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

''. Several synonyms for the species are known including; ''Racosperma myrtifolium'', ''Acacia amoena'', ''Acacia trigona'', ''Mimosa marginata'' and ''Acacia acutifolia''. It was one of the earliest plants described in the colony, having been illustrated by

James Sowerby James Sowerby (21 March 1757 – 25 October 1822) was an English naturalist, illustrator and mineralogist. Contributions to published works, such as ''A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland'' or ''English Botany'', include his detailed and app ...

. Its specific epithet 'myrtle-leaved' is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''myrtus'' 'myrtle', and ''folium'' 'leaf'. ''A. myrtifolia'' is part of the 'A. myrtifolia group' of Acacias along with eight other closely related species all found in Western Australia; '' Acacia celastrifolia'', '' Acacia clydonophora'', '' Acacia disticha'', '' Acacia durabilis'', '' Acacia heterochroa'', '' Acacia nervosa'', '' Acacia obovata'' and ''

Acacia pygmaea ''Acacia pygmaea'', commonly known as the dwarf rock wattle, is a shrub of the genus ''Acacia'' and the subgenus ''Phyllodineae'' that is endemic to south western Australia. Description The erect single-stemmed shrub typically grows to a height ...

''.

Distribution

The shrub is found across the south coast of Western Australia and extends inland. It is found in the

South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

, Wheatbelt, Great Southern and Goldfields-Esperance regions. Form Albany in the south to Kondinin in the north and from Augusta in the west to

Cape Arid Cape Arid National Park is a national park located in Western Australia, southeast of Perth. The park is situated east of Esperance and lies on the shore of the south coast from the eastern end of the Recherche Archipelago. The bay at its eas ...

in the east. It grows well in a range of habitats in gravelly or sandy soils. It is also found in coastal areas of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, 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 o ...

east of the

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named af ...

extending coastal areas of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

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 ...

and north into

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 , establishe ...

as far as

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-cons ...

. It is also found in coastal areas of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. Habitats where ''A. myrtifolia'' is found is mostly open forest, mixed woodlands, scrub or heath, usually in coastal or near-coastal locations. The distribution pattern of the shrub closely follows the combined distributions of '' Acacia subcaerulea'' and '' Acacia suaveolens''.

Cultivation

''A. myrtifolia'' is one of the earliest native Australian plants to be cultivated in Europe. The species has also been cultivated in Australia but it is not widely used in gardens as many other ''Acacia'' species have more colourful flowers. It prefers well drained soils, full sun and will tolerate moderate frosts. If it is lightly pruned after flowering it will produce a busy growth habit. If grown from seed, pre-treatment by soaking in boiling water or by scarification is required. Propagation from cuttings can also work. The fast growing shrub is suitable for low maintenance gardens, roadside verges and large median strips as a wind-break, natural barrier or erosion control.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2583153 myrtifolia Fabales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (Australia) Acacias of Western Australia Plants described in 1791 Taxa named by James Edward Smith Taxa named by Carl Ludwig Willdenow