''Acacia polyadenia'' is a shrub or small tree 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 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 prostrate shrub or small tree has
glabrous slender branchlets slender that are a red-brown colour and resinous when immature. 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 a linear-elliptic shape and can be shallowly recurved. The phyllodes have a length of and a width of and are resinous with young and are acute with a callus tip with 7 to 14 veins per face with a prominent midrib. When it blooms it produces simple
inflorescences that occur singly or 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. The cylindrical flower-spikes are with yellow flowers that occur in bands. The woody
seed pods that form after flowering have a narrowly oblong to oblanceolate shape and are narrowed toward the base. The resinous pods are around ling and have barely discernible longitudinal veins resinous with thick margins.
Taxonomy
The species was first formally described in 1987 as ''Racosperma polyadenium'' by the botanist
Leslie Pedley as part of the work ''Notes on Racosperma Martius (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae)'' as published in the journal ''
Austrobaileya''. It was transferred to genus ''Acacia'' in 1990. The species is commonly confused with ''
Acacia drepanocarpa''.
Distribution
It is
endemic to the a few islands off
Central Queensland including
Shaw Island in the
Lindeman Group,
Palm Island and
Whitsunday Island
Whitsunday Island is the largest island in the Whitsunday group of islands located off the coast of Central Queensland, Australia.
History
Whitsunday Island was inhabited by the sea-faring Ngaro people for around 8,000 years prior to British ...
where it is found on hillsides in heathland communities close to the beach growing in sandy soils.
[
]
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9568120
polyadenia
Flora of Queensland
Taxa named by Leslie Pedley
Plants described in 1987