Acacia araneosa, commonly known as Balcanoona wattle or spidery wattle[2], is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a small, wispy tree with pendulous phyllodes that are circular in cross section, racemes of spherical heads of yellow flowers, and linear pods up to 145 mm (5.7 in) long.
| Balcanoona Wattle | |
|---|---|
| |
| In the ANBG | |
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. araneosa
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| Binomial name | |
| Acacia araneosa | |
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Racosperma araneosum (Whibley) Pedley | |
Description
editAcacia araneosa is a small, erect, wispy tree that typically grows to a height of 3–8 m (9.8–26.2 ft) with a slender trunk 4–7 cm (1.6–2.8 in) in diameter. The bark is smooth and grey, reddish brown on branchlets. The phyllodes are pendulous, circular in cross section, mostly 180–350 mm (7.1–13.8 in) long and 1.0–1.8 mm (0.039–0.071 in) in diameter. The flowers are arranged in spherical heads in racemes 35–95 mm (1.4–3.7 in) long in leaf axils, on peduncles mostly 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in) long. The heads are compact, composed of 50 to 65 yellow flowers, with stamens 2.8–3.5 mm (0.11–0.14 in) long. Flowering has been observed from May to October, and the fruit is a crusty, linear pod 60–145 mm (2.4–5.7 in) long and 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) wide, containing hard, black, oval seeds up to 5 mm (0.20 in) long and 3 mm (0.12 in) wide with an orange aril.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy
editAcacia araneosa was first formally described by the botanist David Whibley in Contributions from the Herbarium Australiense, from specimens collected near Nudlamutana Well in the northern Flinders Ranges.[4][5] The specific epithet (araneosa) means 'cobwebby', referring to the appearance of the plant.[3]
Distribution and habitat
editBalcanoona wattle has a limited distribution in association with Eucalyptus gillii and Triodia irritans in the Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park, from Balcanoona to Arkaroola, where it is found on rocky slopes, ridges and hills in open woodland, in skeletal soils.[2][4][6]
Conservation status
editBalcanoona wattle is listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999[7] and as "endangered" under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972.[7][6] The main threats to the species are habitat degradation, and browsing by feral rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and feral goats (Capra hircus).[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Acacia araneosa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
- ^ a b c "Acacia araneosa". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Acacia araneosa (Leguminosae) Balcanoona Wattle". Seeds of South Australia. South Australian Seed Conservation Centre. 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ a b c Whibley, David John Edward (1976). "Acacia araneosa (Fabaceae subfam. Mimosoideae), a New Species from South Australia". Contributions from the Herbarium Australiense. 14: 1–7. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
- ^ "Acacia araneosa". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Spidery wattle, Balacoona watle - Acacia araneosa" (PDF). South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resources Management Board. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
- ^ a b c "Approved Conservation Advice for Acacia araneosa (Spidery Wattle)" (PDF). Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Retrieved 26 October 2024.