Acacia leptoloba
| Irvinebank wattle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In Townsville | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Caesalpinioideae |
| Clade: | Mimosoid clade |
| Genus: | Acacia |
| Species: | A. leptoloba |
| Binomial name | |
| Acacia leptoloba | |
 | |
| Occurrence data from AVH | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Racosperma leptolobum (Pedley) Pedley | |
Acacia leptoloba, also known as Irvinebank wattle,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to northern Queensland, Australia. It is a spreading shrub or tree with glabrous branchlets, narrowly elliptic, slightly curved, leathery phyllodes, spherical heads of white flowers, and thin, flat pods.
Description
Acacia leptoloba is a spreading shrub or tree that typically grows to a height of 3–5 m (9.8–16.4 ft) and has a glabrous branchlets, sometimes covered in a fine white powdery coating. Its phyllodes are narrowly elliptic, slightly curved, 70–120 mm (2.8–4.7 in) long and 18–33 mm (0.71–1.30 in) wide with three main longitudinal veins. The flowers are borne in spherical heads in racemes 10–40 mm (0.39–1.57 in) long on glabrous peduncles 7–15 mm (0.28–0.59 in) long, each head about 8 mm (0.31 in) in diameter with 40 to 75 white flowers. Flowering occurs between December and April, and the pods are thin, flat, up to 80 mm (3.1 in) long and about 20 mm (0.79 in) wide and glabrous. The seeds are 5.5–6.0 mm (0.22–0.24 in) long with a cup-shaped aril.[3][4][5][6]
Taxonomy
Acacia leptoloba was first formally described in 1978 by Leslie Pedley in the journal Austrobaileya from a specimen collected 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Laura River, 68 km (42 mi) south-west of Cooktown in 1975.[3][7]
Distribution and habitat
This species of wattle has a scattered distribution from Cape York Peninsula to Herberton in north Queensland, where it grows on hills and along streams in sandy soils.[4][6] The plant is quite common around the Irvinebank area.[2]
See also
References
- 1 2 "Acacia leptoloba". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Acacia leptoloba Pedley Irvinebank Wattle". Fabaceae. North Queensland Plants. 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- 1 2 Pedley, Leslie (1978). "A revision of Acacia Mill. in Queensland, Part 1". Austrobaileya. 1 (2): 220–221. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- 1 2 Cowan, Richard S.; Baslin, Bruce R. Kodela, Phillip G. (ed.). "Acacia leptoloba". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- ↑ Cowan, Richard S.; Maslin, Bruce R. "Acacia leptoloba". Australian Biological Resources Study. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Acacia leptoloba". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- ↑ "Acacia leptoloba". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 31 July 2026.