Acacia incongesta, also known as Peak Charles wattle,[1] is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is endemic to a small area in south western Australia
| Peak Charles wattle | |
|---|---|
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. incongesta
|
| Binomial name | |
| Acacia incongesta | |
Description
editThe shrub is dense and rounded typically growing to a height of 0.6 to 4 metres (2 to 13 ft) [2] and has glabrous branchlets. Like most species of Acacia it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. The evergreen, ascending to erect phyllodes have a narrowly elliptic shape and can be incurved. They have a length of 4 to 7 cm (1.6 to 2.8 in) and a width of 3 to 4.5 mm (0.12 to 0.18 in) and are semi-rigid and sharply to coarsely pungent and have three distant, raised nerves.[1] It blooms from March to June producing cream flowers.[2] The simple inflorescences occur in pairs in the axils forming cylindrical flower-spikes that have a length of 15 to 25 mm (0.59 to 0.98 in) and a diameter of 3 to 4.5 mm (0.12 to 0.18 in) and are subdensely packed with cream coloured flowers. The pendant, thinly-coriaceous and glabrous seed pods that form after flowering have a linear shape but are raised over and constricted between the seeds. The pods have a length of up to 10.5 cm (4.1 in) and a width of 4 mm (0.16 in) with the seeds arranged longitudinally inside. The slightly glossy black seeds have a broadly elliptic shape with a length of 3 to 4 mm (0.12 to 0.16 in) and an apical aril.[1]
Distribution
editIt is native to a small area near Peak Charles in Peak Charles National Park in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia where it is found situated on granite mountain slopes and clay flats growing in sandy soils.[2] The park is located approximately 100 km (62 mi) south of Norseman and the shrub is usually part of low heathland communities.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Acacia incongesta". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ a b c "Acacia incongesta". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.