Acacia polybotrya Benth.
| Family Fabaceae
Subfamily Mimosoideae
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Common name: western silver wattle, hairy feather wattle
Acacia polybotrya Benth. APNI* Synonyms: Racosperma polybotryum (Benth.) Pedley APNI*
Acacia polybotrya var. typica Domin APNI*
Description: Spreading shrub, mostly 1–2 m high (sometimes taller), severel-stemmed; bark smooth, brown, greenish grey or blackish; branchlets angled at extremities, soon ± terete, ± hairy or glabrous.
Leaves with petiole 0.3–1.5 cm long, hairy or glabrous, with 1 minute circular gland at base of lowermost pair of pinnae; rachis 0.5–3 cm long, hairy or glabrous, usually with 1 jugary gland at apical pinnae and rarely at base of other pinnae, interjugary glands absent; pinnae usually 2–4 pairs, rarely some leaves with 1 pair, 1–4.5 cm long; pinnules 4–12 pairs, ± oblong to narrowly oblong or sometimes ± lanceolate or obovate, mostly 4–10 mm long (range 3–13 mm long), mostly 1.5–3 mm wide, hairy or glabrous.
Inflorescences 3–25 in an axillary raceme with axis 1–8 cm long or in a panicle; peduncles 1–4 mm long, glabrous or hairy; heads globose, 20–35-flowered, 4–7 mm diam., bright yellow.
Pods straight or curved, often twisted, constricted between seeds, 4–11.5 cm long, 4–8 mm wide, thinly leathery, sparsely hairy to glabrous, ± pruinose, margins often alternately recurved-incurved; seeds longitudinal; funicle filiform.
Flowering: mainly August–November.
Distribution and occurrence: north from Munghorn near Sandy Hollow. Grows in open forest or woodland in sandy soil.
NSW subdivisions: NWS, CWS, NWP
Other Australian states: Qld
Similar to Acacia spectabilis which has longer racemes, larger flower heads, wider legumes and usually only 1 gland. The name means many racemes.
Text by P.G. Kodela
Taxon concept: P.G. Kodela & G.J. Harden, Flora of NSW Vol. 2 (2002)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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