Acacia crassuloides

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Acacia crassuloides
Acacia crassuloides.jpg
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. crassuloides
Binomial name
Acacia crassuloides
Acacia crassuloidesDistMap232.png
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms [1]

Racosperma crassuloides(Maslin) Pedley

Habit in Frank Hann National Park Acacia crassuloides habit.jpg
Habit in Frank Hann National Park

Acacia crassuloides is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a glabrous, dense, cushion-like spreading shrub with many stems, ascending, thick and fleshy, egg-shaped to oblong phyllodes, spherical heads of golden yellow flowers and crust-like, oblong, S-shaped to curved pods.

Contents

Description

Acacia crassuloides is a glabrous, dense, cushion-like, spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of 15–50 cm (5.9–19.7 in) and often forms prostrate mats. Its phyllodes are ascending, thick and fleshy, egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base to oblong, 4–10 mm (0.16–0.39 in) long, 1.3–3 mm (0.051–0.118 in) wide and flattened to convex with one vein on the lower surface. The flowers are borne in two spherical heads in racemes on peduncles 2–8 mm (0.079–0.315 in) long. The heads are about 3 mm (0.12 in) in diameter with 7 to 10 golden yellow flowers. Flowering occurs from about September and October, and the pods are oblong, up to 15 mm (0.59 in) long, 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) wide and S-shaped to curved, sometimes in a complete circle. The seeds are pear-shaped, 2.0–2.5 mm (0.079–0.098 in) long, shiny, light grey with a club-shaped aril more than helf the length of the seed. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Taxonomy

Acacia crassuloides was first formally described in 1978 by Bruce Maslin in the journal Nuytsia from specimens collected by James Hamlyn Willis 110 km (68 mi) south of Norseman in 1963. [2] [7] The specific epithet (crassuloides), suggested by Willis, means ' Crassula -like', referring to the thick phyllodes, that are reminiscent of the leaves in some species of Crassula. [2]

Distribution and habitat

This species of wattle grows in a variety of soils in open heath, shrubland and mallee woodland from Lake King to Salmon Gums and Mount Ney in the Coolgardie, Esperance Plains and Mallee bioregions of south-western Western Australia. [3] [6]

Conservation status

Acacia crassuloides is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. [6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Acacia crassuloides". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Maslin, Bruce R. (1978). "Studies in the genus Acacia (Mimosaceae) - 7 - The taxonomy of some diaphyllodinous species". Nuytsia. 2 (4): 203–206. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  3. 1 2 Maslin, Bruce R. Kodela, Phillip G.; Rogers, J. (eds.). "Acacia crassuloides". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  4. ↑ "Acacia crassuloides". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  5. ↑ "Acacia crassuloides". Australian Biological Resources Study. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 "Acacia crassiuscula". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  7. ↑ "Acacia crassuloides". APNI. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
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