Acacia curvata

Acacia curvata
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. curvata
Binomial name
Acacia curvata Maslin [1]
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms [1]
Racosperma curvatum(Maslin) Pedley

Acacia curvata is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a harsh, much-branched shrub with hairy branchlets, more or less crowded, curved, scimitar-shaped, sharply pointed phyllodes, spherical heads of golden yellow flowers and linear, strongly curved glabrous pods.

Description

Acacia curvata is a harsh, much-branched, shrub that typically grows to 0.3–1.5 m (1 ft 0 in – 4 ft 11 in) high and about 3 m (9.8 ft) wide, its branchlets densely covered with fine, soft hairs. Its phyllodes are more or less crowded, more or less sessile, scimitar shaped with the end strongly curved down, 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) long, 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) wide, rigid, sharply pointed and glabrous with three prominent main veins. There are stipules at the base of the phyllodes, but that sometimes fall off as the phyllodes mature. The flowers are borne in a spherical head on a peduncle 5–9 mm (0.20–0.35 in) long, the head 3.0–3.5 mm (0.12–0.14 in) in diameter with 13 to 25 golden yellow flowers. Flowering occurs from May to July, and the pods are linear, curved and raised over the seeds, up to 50 mm (2.0 in) long, 4.0–4.5 mm (0.16–0.18 in) wide and firmly papery to thinly leathery and glabrous. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

Taxonomy

Acacia curvata was first formally described in by the botanist Bruce Maslin in 1977 in the journal Nuytsia from specimens collected 5.5 mi (8.9 km) south-east of Kundip by Kenneth Newbey in 1965. ^{[2] [6]} The specific epithet (curvata) refers to the characteristic recurved phyllodes. ^[3]

Distribution

This species of wattle grows in clay, clay loam or gravel mostly in open scrub between Ravensthorpe, south of Kundip and Munglinup and in the Scaddan-Wittenoom Hills area in the Esperance Plains and Mallee bioregions of south-western Western Australia. ^{[3] [5] [4]}

See also

• List of Acacia species

References

1. "Acacia curvata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
2. Maslin, Bruce R. (1977). "Studies in the genus Acacia (Mimosaceae) - 6 - Miscellany". Nuytsia. 2 (3): 148–150. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
3. Cowan, Richard S.; Maslin, Bruce R. Kodela, Phillip G. (ed.). "Acacia curvata". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
4. "Acacia curvata Maslin". Wattle - Acacias of Australia. Lucid Central. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
5. "Acacia curvata". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
6. "Acacia curvata". APNI. Retrieved 14 August 2025.