Acacia cowaniana

Last updated

Cowan's wattle
Status DECF P2.svg
Priority Two — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
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. cowaniana
Binomial name
Acacia cowaniana
Acacia cowanianaDistMap224.png
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms [1]
  • Acacia aff. wilhelmiana[P9] (B.R.Maslin 6015)
  • Racosperma cowanianum(Maslin) Pedley

Acacia cowaniana, commonly known as Cowan's wattle, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub or tree with narrowly linear, curved phyllodes with a more or less hooked end, spherical heads of cream-coloured to pale lemon-yellow flowers and linear, firmly leathery pods.

Contents

Description

Acacia cowaniana is a shrub or tree that typically grows to a height of up to 5 m (16 ft) and has glabrous branchlets, or sometimes sparsely covered with soft, white or golden hairs, and fibrous bark. Its phyllodes are narrowly linear, 30–50 mm (1.2–2.0 in) long and 1–2.5 mm (0.039–0.098 in) wide with a more or less hooked end and 3 to 7 obscure veins. The flowers are borne in spherical heads in racemes on peduncles 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) long, each head with about 20 cream-coloured to pale lemon-yellow flowers. Flowering occurs from April to June and the pods are linear, firmly leathery, up to 80 mm (3.1 in) long and 4.5–6 mm (0.18–0.24 in) wide, the seeds oblong, about 3.5 mm (0.14 in) long with a club-shaped aril. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Taxonomy

Acacia cowaniana was first formally described in 1990 by the botanist Bruce Maslin in the journal Nuytsia from specimens he collected on the eastern slopes of Mount Caroline, 21 km (13 mi) south-south-west of Kellerberrin in 1986. [3] [7] The specific epithet (cowaniana) honours Richard Sumner Cowan. [4]

Distribution and habitat

Cowan's wattle is restricted to a few granite outcrops near Kellerberrin and Kulin in the Avon Wheatbelt and Mallee bioregions of south-western Western Australia. [2] [4] [6]

Conservation status

Acacia cowaniana is listed as "Priority Two" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, [6] meaning that it is poorly known and from one or a few locations. [8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Acacia cowaniana". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "Acacia cowaniana Maslin". Wattle - Acacias of Australia. Lucid Central. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 Maslin, Bruce R. (1990). "Acacia Miscellany 4. Three new Western Australian species with affinities to A. wilhelmiana (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae: Section Plurinerves) from Western Australia". Nuytsia. 7 (2): 226–227. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Maslin, Bruce R. Kodela, Phillip G. (ed.). "Acacia cowaniana". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  5. ↑ "Acacia cowaniana". World Wide Wattle. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 "Acacia cowaniana". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  7. ↑ "Acacia cowaniana". APNI. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  8. ↑ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
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