Acacia spectrum, also known as Kimberley ghost wattle, is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves that is endemic to arid parts of north western Australia.

Acacia spectrum

Priority Two — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Acacia
Species:
A. spectrum
Binomial name
Acacia spectrum
Lewington & Maslin

Description

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The shrub typically grows to a height of 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) and has slender stems, pendulous branched and an open habit with a wispy and open crown. It has glabrous branchlets with caducous stipules that are often covered in a fine white and powdery coating. Like most species of Acacia it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. The evergreen and glabrous phyllodes have a filiform shape and are straight to slightly incurved with a length of 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 in) and a width of 1.5 to 2 mm (0.059 to 0.079 in) and have four yellowish longitudinal nerves.[2]

Taxonomy

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The species was first formally named as Acacia spectra by the botanists Margaret A. Lewington and Bruce Maslin in 2009 as a part of the work Three new species of Acacia (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae) from the Kimberley Region, Western Australia as published in the journal Nuytsia.[3][4] The holotype was collected in 2005 below sandstone cliffs along the Mitchell River. It grew abundantly in shrubland habitat with Acacia deltoidea, Acacia kelleri, and Grevillea cunninghamii.[3]

Distribution

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It is native to a small area of the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia.[1] where it is limited to two separate populations situated approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) apart in the Mitchell River National Park where it is situated among sandstone outcrops growing in shallow sandy soils as a part of mixed shrubland communities[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Acacia spectrum". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  2. ^ a b "Acacia spectrum Lewington & Maslin". Wattle - Acacias of Australia. Lucid Central. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b Lewington, M. A. & Maslin, B. R. 2009. Three new species of Acacia (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae) from the Kimberley Region, Western Australia. Nuytsia 19(1): 63–75.
  4. ^ "Acacia spectrum Lewington & Maslin". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 19 September 2020.