Acacia cochlocarpa

Acacia cochlocarpa
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. cochlocarpa
Binomial name
Acacia cochlocarpa Meisn. [1]
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms [1]
Acacia cochliocarpa Benth. orth. var. Racosperma cochlocarpum(Meisn.) Pedley

Acacia cochlocarpa is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a sprawling shrub with slightly bending branchlets, narrowly oblong, strongly curved phyllodes, more or less spherical to shortly cylindrical heads of golden yellow flowers, and tightly spiral or irregularly coiled pods. ^[2]

Description

Acacia cochlocarpa is sprawling shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 30–70 cm (12–28 in) sometimes to a height of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) and has slightly bending branchlets. Its phyllodes are erect, narrowly oblong, slightly to strongly curved, 25–75 mm (0.98–2.95 in) long and 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) wide with 3 to 7 prominent veins. There are sometimes stipules at the base of the phyllodes. The flowers are arranged in two, more or less spherical or shortly cylindrical, sessile heads 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) long and 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) in diameter in axils. Flowering time depends on subspecies, and the pods are tightly spiralled to more or less irregularly coiled, containing round to oblong seeds 1.5–2.5 mm (0.059–0.098 in) long with a yellowish aril on the end. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

Taxonomy

Acacia cochlocarpa was first formally described in 1855 by Carl Meissner from specimens collected by James Drummond and the description was published in Botanische Zeitung . ^{[7] [8]} The specific epithet (cochlocarpa) means 'a spirally twisted fruit'. ^[9]

In 1999, Bruce Maslin and Alex R. Chapman. described 2 subspecies of A. cochlocarpa and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

• Acacia cochlocarpaMeisn. subsp. cochlocarpa, ^[10] commonly known as spiral-fruited wattle, has phyllodes 40–75 mm (1.6–3.0 in) long and 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) wide with stipules that fall off early, flowering between June and August, followed by glabrous pods. ^{[3] [11] [12]}
• Acacia cochlocarpa subsp. velutinosa, Maslin & A.R.Chapm. ^[13] commonly known as velvety spiral pod wattle, has phyllodes 25–40 mm (0.98–1.57 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide with persistent stipules 1.5–2 mm (0.059–0.079 in) long, flowering between May and July, followed by velvety pods. ^{[3] [14] [15]}

Acacia cochlocarpa is similar in appearance and closely related to Acacia lirellata and is also closely related to Acacia tetraneura . ^[6]

Distribution and habitat

Acacia cochlocarpa has a scattered distribution around Watheroo and Manmanning in the Avon Wheatbelt and Geraldton Sandplains bioregions of Western Australia where it grows in sand, clay, gravel and laterite in heath. ^{[2] [6]}

Subspecies cochlocarpa is restricted to near Watheroo, with an early collection west of Moora, ^[12] and subsp. velutinosa is restricted to near Manmanning, with an early collection near York. ^[15]

Conservation status

Both subspecies of A. cochlocarpa are listed as "Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. ^{[2] [16]}

See also

• List of Acacia species

References

1. "Acacia cochlocarpa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
2. "Acacia cochlocarpa". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
3. Maslin, Bruce R./; Chapman, Alexander R. (1999). "Acacia miscellany 19. The taxonomy of some Western Australian species Acacia section Juliflorae with 4-merous flowers (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae)". Nuytsia. 12 (3): 474–475. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
4. Chapman, Alexander R.; Maslin, Bruce R. Kodela, Phillip G. (ed.). "Acacia cochlocarpa". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
5. "Acacia cochlocarpa". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
6. "Acacia cochlocarpa". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
7. "Acacia cochlocarpa". APNI. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
8. Meissner, Carl (1855). von Mohl, Hugo; Schlechtendal, Diedrich F.L. (eds.). "Leguminosae quaedam Australasicae novae". Botanische Zeitung. 13 (1): 10. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
9. George, Alex S.; Sharr, Francis A. (2023). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings - A Glossary (fifth ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables Press. p. 168. ISBN   9780645629538.
10. "Acacia cochlocarpa subsp. cochlocarpa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
11. "Acacia cochlocarpa Meisn. subsp. cochlocarpa". Australian Biological Resources Study. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
12. Chapman, Alexander R.; Maslin, Bruce R. Kodela, Phillip G. (ed.). "Acacia cochlocarpa subsp. cochlocarpa". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
13. "Acacia cochlocarpa subsp. velutinosa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
14. "Acacia cochlocarpa Meisn. subsp. velutinosa". Australian Biological Resources Study. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
15. Chapman, Alexander R.; Maslin, Bruce R. Kodela, Phillip G. (ed.). "Acacia cochlocarpasubsp. velutinosa". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
16. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Retrieved 11 July 2025.