Acacia elongata
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Swamp wattle | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Caesalpinioideae |
| Clade: | Mimosoid clade |
| Genus: | Acacia |
| Species: | A. elongata |
| Binomial name | |
| Acacia elongata | |
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
Acacia elongata, also known as swamp wattle or slender wattle,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a shrub with linear, thinly leathery phyllodes, spherical heads of light golden yellow flowers and linear, thinly leathery pods.
Acacia elongata is an erect or spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 5 m (16 ft), and has yellow-ribbed branchlets, sometimes with minute hairs pressed against the surface. Its phyllodes are rigid, linear to narrowly lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, straight to slightly curved, usually 50–160 mm (2.0–6.3 in) long and 24 mm (0.94 in) wide. The phyllodes are thinly leathery with 3 raised veins and a small gland near the base.[2][3][4][5]
The flowers are borne in two or three spherical heads in racemes 1–14 mm (0.039–0.551 in) long on peduncles 5–16 mm (0.20–0.63 in) long, each head 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter with 20 to 42 light golden yellow flowers. Flowering occurs from July to October, and the pods are linear, straight, thinly leathery and glabrous, up to 90 mm (3.5 in) long, 3.5–6 mm (0.14–0.24 in) wide and strongly raised over the seeds. The seeds are broadly elliptic to oblong, 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long and glossy dark brown with an aril on the end.[2][3][4][5]
Taxonomy
Acacia elongata was first formally described in 1825 by the botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in his Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis from an unpublished description by Franz Sieber. It is closely related to A. ptychoclada and superficially resembles A. trinervata, A. dawsonii and A. viscidula.[2] The specific epithet is taken from the Latin word elongatus meaning lengthened in reference to the long, narrow phyllodes.[6]
Distribution
Swamp wattle occurs in north-eastern New South Wales from near Kingscliff, south to near Eden and inland to Wagga Wagga in the west. It grows along watercourses and swamps in sandy soil in woodland and heath.[2][3][4][5] The species has become naturalized in a few places in the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria.[7]