''Acacia ramulosa'' var. ''linophylla'', commonly known as bowgada, wanderry mulga, horse mulga or sometimes wanyu, is a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

species Acacia ramulosa, with which it shares several common names. While the parent species is found throughout arid Australia, this subspecies is much more restricted, being found only on loose red sand in south central

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 ...

and sporadically in

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 ...

. The species was formally named ''Acacia linophylla'' until 2001, when it was recognised as a variety of '' Acacia ramulosa''. This species grows as a spreading shrub or low tree, up to four metres long and often wider than it is high. Like most ''

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 ...

'' species, 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. These are greyish green in colour, round in cross-section, and held almost vertically; they may be up to thirteen centimetres long and two millimetres in diameter. The flowers are yellow, and held in cylindrical clusters about two centimetres long. The pods are thick and woody, up to ten centimetres long and one centimetre wide, with deep fissures along their length.

References

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4670995 Acacias of Western Australia ramulosa var. linophylla Fabales of Australia Taxa named by William Vincent Fitzgerald

See also

References