Acacia sclerophylla

Acacia sclerophylla, commonly known as the hard-leaf wattle,[1] is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves and is endemic to southern parts of Australia.

Hard-leaf wattle
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Clade: Mimosoideae
Genus: Acacia
Species:
A. sclerophylla
Binomial name
Acacia sclerophylla
Occurrence data from AVH

Description

The shrub typically grows to a height of 0.2 to 2.5 metres (1 to 8 ft)[2] and a width of 3 m (9.8 ft) and has a moderately open habit.[3] It has glossy green phyllodes with an oblanceolate shape and are slightly sticky.[3] The ascending to erect phyllodes are straight to shallowly incurved with a length of 1 to 6 cm (0.39 to 2.36 in) and a width of 1 to 5 mm (0.039 to 0.197 in).[4] It blooms from August to October and produces yellow flowers.[2] The golden-yellow spherical flowers are prolifically produced in the leaf axils.[3] Each simple inflorescence has a diameter of 3 to 4 mm (0.12 to 0.16 in) and contains 12 to 20 flowers. After flowering linear to curved to openly coiled seed pods form with a length of 6 cm (2.4 in) and a width of 2 to 3 mm (0.079 to 0.118 in) that contain longitudinal seeds with an oblong to oblong-ovate shape.[4]

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist John Lindley in 1838 as part of Thomas Mitchell's work Three Expeditions into the interior of Eastern Australia. It was briefly reclassified as Racosperma sclerophyllum by Leslie Pedley in 2003 then transferred back to the genus Acacia in 2006.[5]

There are three known varieties:

  • Acacia sclerophylla var. pilosa
  • Acacia sclerophylla var. sclerophylla
  • Acacia sclerophylla var. teretiuscula

Distribution

It is native to southern areas in South Australia and Victoria as well as an area in the Wheatbelt and Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia.[2] It is also found in south eastern parts of South Australia, eastern parts of Victoria and south eastern parts of New South Wales.[3][4]

Cultivation

The hardy and attractive species are often used for hydroseeding on roadside that can grow in a variety of soils. It requires little maintenance, is drought tolerant and frost hardy down to 7 °C (45 °F).[3]

See also

References
  1. "Acacia sclerophylla var. sclerophylla Hard-leaf Wattle". The Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. "Acacia sclerophylla". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  3. "Acacia sclerophylla Hard-leaf Wattle". Wattle genus Acacia. Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  4. "Acacia sclerophylla". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  5. "Acacia sclerophylla Lindl". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
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