Acacia betchei

Last updated

Red-tip wattle
Acacia betchei.jpg
Near Stanthorpe
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Acacia
Species:
A. betchei
Binomial name
Acacia betchei
Acacia betcheiDistMap111.png
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms [1]
  • Racosperma betchei(Maiden & Blakely) Pedley
  • Acacia aduncaauct. non A.Cunn. ex G.Don: Maiden, J.H. (February 1912)

Acacia betchei, commonly known as red-tip wattle, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to a eastern Australia. It is a shrub, or sometimes a tree, with narrowly linear phyllodes, pale to bright yellow flowers arranged in spherical heads in racemes, and linear to narrowly oblong, leathery to thinly crust-like pods up to 140 mm (5.5 in) long.

Contents

Description

Acacia betchei is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 4 m (13 ft), sometimes a tree to 5 m (16 ft), with slender, glabrous, dark reddish branchlets. Its phyllodes are narrowly linear, 60–100 mm (2.4–3.9 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) wide. The flowers are arranged in racemes 15–50 mm (0.59–1.97 in) long in five to fifteen spherical heads, on thin peduncles mostly 3–8 mm (0.12–0.31 in) long. Each head has 12 to 28 pale to bright yellow flowers. Flowering has been observed from January to March, and it probably flowers in other months. The pods are leathery to thinly crust-like, linear to narrowly oblong, up to 140 mm (5.5 in) long and 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) wide containing oblong black seeds 5.5–6.5 mm (0.22–0.26 in) long with a club-shaped aril. [2] [3] [4]

This species is similar to Acacia adunca that has hooked phyllodes and somewhat larger flowers. [3]

Taxonomy

Acacia betchei was first formally described in 1927 by the botanists Joseph Maiden and William Blakely in 1927 in the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales . [5] [6] The specific epithet (betchei) honours Ernst Betche. [3]

Distribution and habitat

Red-tip wattle is found along the tablelands of the Great Dividing Range from Dalveen in south-eastern Queensland to Torrington in north-eastern New South Wales. It is found in sandy granite based soils as a part of forest communities. [2]

Conservation status

Acacia betchei is listed as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992 . [7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Acacia betchei". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "Acacia betchei". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium . Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Maslin, Bruce R. Kodela, Phillip G. (ed.). "Acacia betchei". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  4. ↑ Kodela, Phillip G.; Harden, Gwen J. "Acacia betchei". Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  5. ↑ "Acacia betchei". APNI. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  6. ↑ Maiden, Joseph; Blakely, William (1927). "Description of fifteen new acacias, and notes on several other species". Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales. 60: 174–176. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  7. ↑ "pecies profile—Acacia betchei". Queensland Government Department of Education and Science. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
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