Acacia howittii

Acacia howittii, commonly known as sticky wattle[1] or Howitt's wattle,[1][2] is a tree species that is endemic to Victoria, Australia.

Acacia howittii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Clade: Mimosoideae
Genus: Acacia
Species:
A. howittii
Binomial name
Acacia howittii
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms
  • Racosperma howittii (F.Muell.) Pedley

Description

The shrub or tree an erect or spreading habit, growing up to 9 m (30 ft) high[3] and it has pendulous and slender branchlets with pubescent ribs.[2] Like most species of Acacia it has phyllodes rather than true leaves The phyllodes are up to 2 cm (0.79 in) in length[3] and 4 to 8 mm (0.16 to 0.31 in) wide. The thin dark green phyllodes have a narrowly elliptic to lanceolate shape with two to three distinct nerves per face.[2] The globular pale-yellow flowerheads appear in the leaf axils in October (in Australia).[3] The simple inflorescences occur singly or in pairs in the axils and have spherical flower-heads that contain 12 to 20 pale yellow lemon yellow flowers. Following flowering straight seed pods form that are up to 6 cm (2.4 in) long [3] The firmly chartaceous to thinly coriaceous brown seed pods have a narrowly oblong to linear shape with a width of 4 to 5 mm (0.16 to 0.20 in) and are mostly glabrous but are hairy around the margins. The seeds inside are arranged longitudinally. The shiny dark brown seeds have an oblong shape with a length of 3 to 4 mm (0.12 to 0.16 in) and have a terminal aril.[2]

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by Victorian Government Botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in The Victorian Naturalist in 1893. Mueller's description was based on material collected by Alfred William Howitt, for whom the species is named.[1] It was reclassified as Racosperma howittii by Leslie Pedley in 2003 but was transferred back to genus Acacia in 2006.[4] It belongs to the Acacia verniciflua complex where hybrids occur between A. howittii and the Dandenong variant of Acacia leprosa.[2]

Distribution

It is native to an area in eastern Victoria from around the from the upper reaches of the Macalister River area near Mount Howitt in the north and down to around Yarram in the south and extending east to around Tabberabbera where it is usually situated in moist forest environments.[2] Although regarded as a rare species, it is commonly cultivated, and has become naturalised in areas outside its original range.[3]

References
  1. "Acacia howittii". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
  2. "Acacia howittii". World Wide Wattle. Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  3. Wild Plants of Victoria (database). Viridans Biological Databases & Department of Sustainability and Environment. 2009.
  4. "Acacia howittii F.Muell". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
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