| Yarran | |
|---|---|
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. melvillei |
| Binomial name | |
| Acacia melvillei | |
 | |
| Occurrence data from AVH | |
Acacia melvillei, commonly known as yarran, is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves that is endemic to south eastern Australia.
The tree can grow to a maximum height of around 15 m (49 ft) and has glabrous branchlets. Like most species of Acacia it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. The evergreen, leathery and ascending phyllodes have a narrowly elliptic or oblong-elliptic shape and are quite straight with a length of 5 to 10 cm (2.0 to 3.9 in) and a width of 5 to 25 mm (0.20 to 0.98 in) and have many closely parallel, obscure nerves where one to three are more prominent than the others. [1] It blooms between August and November producing inflorescences that occur in groups of three to five found on an axillary axis with a length of 1 to 6 mm (0.039 to 0.236 in) and has spherical flower-heads with a diameter of 4 to 6 mm (0.16 to 0.24 in) containing 30 to 50 densely packed bright yellow flowers. The straight, flat and papery seed pods that form after flowering have more or less straight sides but are constricted between some seeds. The pods are up to 9 cm (3.5 in) in length and 7 to 10 mm (0.28 to 0.39 in) wide and sparsely haired. [2]
The species was first formally described by the botanist Leslie Pedley in 1978 as a part of the work A revision of Acacia Mill. in Queensland, Part 1 as published in the journal Austrobaileya . Pedley reclassified it as Racosperma melvillei in 1987 but it returned to the Acacia genus in 2001. [3] The specific epithet honours Ronald Melville who was once a botanist at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. The tree is similar in appearance to Acacia homalophylla and is thought to form hybrids with Acacia loderi . [2]
The range of the plant extends from around Clermont in south eastern Queensland in the north down to around Stanthorpe in the south east and throughout central New South Wales into the northern parts of Victoria as far south as Mildura and Kerang as a part of mixed open woodland communities growing in loam, clay and sandy soils. [1] It dominates the endangered Acacia melvillei shrubland in the Riverina and Murray-Darling Depression bioregions in New South Wales where it occurs in pure stands or along with less abundant tall shrubs or trees including Acacia loderi , Alectryon oleifolius , Casuarina pauper and Myoporum platycarpum . The open canopy is followed by a scattered layer of mid-stratum shrubs then by a highly variable but sometimes sparse ground layer of grasses. [4]
Acacia harpophylla, commonly known as brigalow, brigalow spearwood or orkor, is an endemic tree of Australia. The Aboriginal Australian group the Gamilaraay peoples know the tree as Barranbaa or Burrii. It is found in central and coastal Queensland to northern New South Wales. It can reach up to 25 m (82 ft) tall and forms extensive open-forest communities on clay soils.
Acacia binervata, commonly known as two-veined hickory, is a shrub or tree that is endemic to eastern Australia.
Acacia concurrens, commonly known as curracabah or black wattle, is a shrub native to Queensland in eastern Australia.
Acacia calcicola is a shrub or tree of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves that is native to parts of central Australia. Common names for this species include; shrubby wattle, shrubby mulga, myall-gidgee, northern myall and grey myall. Indigenous Australians the Pitjantjatjara peoples know the tree as ikatuka, the Warlpiri know it as jirlarti and the Arrernte know it as irrakwetye.
Acacia eremaea is a shrub or tree of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves that is endemic to an area in western Australia.
Acacia crassa, commonly known as the curracabah, is a species of Acacia native to eastern Australia.
Acacia subtilinervis, also known as the net-veined wattle, is a rare wattle in the Juliflorae subgenus found in eastern Australia.
Acacia burbidgeae, commonly known as Burbidge's wattle, is a shrub or tree belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to parts of New South Wales and Queensland.
Acacia conferta, commonly known as crowded-leaf wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to eastern Australia.
Acacia costiniana, commonly known as Costin's wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to eastern Australia.
Acacia ensifolia is a tree belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to Queensland.
Acacia falciformis, also commonly known as broad-leaved hickory, hickory wattle, mountain hickory, large-leaf wattle, tanning wattle and black wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to eastern Australia
Acacia pilligaensis, commonly known as Pillaga wattle or pinbush wattle, is a tree or shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae native to eastern Australia.
Acacia sertiformis, commonly known as curly-leaved wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae native to north eastern Australia.
Acacia leichhardtii, commonly known as Leichhardt's wattle, is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to north eastern Australia.
Acacia blakei, commonly known as Blake's wattle or Wollomombi wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is native to north eastern Australia.
Acacia cretata is a shrub or tree belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is native to north eastern Australia.
Acacia mariae, commonly known as golden-top wattle or crowned wattle, is a species of wattle native to central New South Wales.
Acacia baeuerlenii is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves that is endemic to a small area in eastern Australia.
Acacia microsperma, commonly known as bowyakka, is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves that is endemic to an area of eastern Australia]. It is rated as least concern according to the Nature Conservation Act 1992.