| Merrall's wattle | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Clade: | Mimosoideae |
| Genus: | Acacia |
| Species: | A. merrallii |
| Binomial name | |
| Acacia merrallii | |
 | |
| Occurrence data from AVH | |
Acacia merrallii, commonly known as Merrall's wattle, [1] is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to south western and southern Australia.
The shrub typically grows to a height of 0.3 to 2.0 metres (1.0 to 6.6 ft) [2] with a width 2 to 3 m (6 ft 7 in to 9 ft 10 in) [3] and can have a dense, rounded or spreading habit. The branchlets are often covered in minutely fine, straight or barely curved hairs. Like most species of Acacia it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. The thick, smooth, grey-green phyllodes have an obliquely obovate to oblong-elliptic shape and is occasionally ovate. The phyllodes have a length of 8 to 25 mm (0.31 to 0.98 in) and a width of 5 to 17 mm (0.20 to 0.67 in) and are mostly slightly undulate with an obscure midrib and prominent margins. [1] It blooms from August to October and produces yellow flowers. [2] The rudimentary inflorescences are found on one to three headed racemes with a length of up to 1 mm (0.039 in). The spherical flower-heads have a diameter of 4 to 5 mm (0.16 to 0.20 in) and contain 22 to 35 golden coloured flowers. The bow shaped to irregularly coiled seed pods that form after flowering have a length of up to 2 cm (0.79 in) and a width of 2 to 3 mm (0.079 to 0.118 in). The dark brown to black coloured glabrous pods are thinly coriaceous-crustaceous. The seeds inside are arranged longitudinally and are up to 2.5 mm (0.098 in) in length with a conspicuous orange coloured aril. [1]
The species was first formally described by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1890 as part of the work Descriptions of hitherto unrecorded Australian plants, with additional phyto-geographic notes as published in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. It was reclassified as Racosperma merrallii in 2003 by Leslie Pedley then transferred back to genus Acacia in 2006. The only other synonyms are Acacia merrallii var. merrallii and Acacia dubia. [4]
In Western Australia it is native to an area in the Goldfields-Esperance and Wheatbelt regions of Western Australia where it is commonly situated on plains, low-lying areas and around salt lakes where it grows in sandy clay, sandy, loamy, calcareous or lateritic soils. [2] In Western Australia the range of the shrub extends from around Wubin in the north west to around Pingrup in the south west extending out to around Madura in the east. It is also found in South Australia along coastal areas of the Nullarbor Plain to around Moonta in the north east and Maitland in the south east on the Yorke Peninsula. [1]
The shrub is available commercially where it can be planted as an ornamental plant suitable for low maintenance areas where it can be employed as an understorey shrub in mixed plantings and along roadside verges or on median strips as a wind-break, natural barrier or erosion control. It can be planted close to the coast line or in hills or on plains in full sun or part shade and can tolerate drought and moderate frosts. It is both bird and insect attracting. [3]
Acacia verticillata is a perennial shrub to small tree native to south eastern Australia.
Acacia filifolia is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is endemic to western Australia.
Acacia oldfieldii is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is endemic to western Australia.
Acacia rhodophloia, commonly known as minni ritchi or western red mulga, is a tree or shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is endemic to a large area of arid central western Australia. The Indigenous group the Kurrama peoples know the plant as mantaru.
Acacia tenuissima, commonly known as narrow-leaved wattle, broom wattle, minyana, slender mulga or slender wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae endemic to temperate and tropical areas of Australia. Indigenous Australians the Kurrama peoples know the plant as Janangungu and the Banyjima know it as Murruthurru.
Acacia mutabilis is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to south western Australia.
Acacia scalena is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to a small area in western Australia.
Acacia spathulifolia commonly known as Gold carpet or the Gold carpet wattle is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to coastal parts of western Australia.
Acacia spinosissima is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae native to south western Australia.
Acacia strongylophylla, commonly known as round-leaf wattle, is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae endemic to central Australia.
Acacia densiflora is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves that is endemic to an area of south western Australia.
Acacia heteroclita is a shrub or tree of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves that is endemic to south western Australia.
Acacia recurvata, commonly known as the recurved wattle, is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves that is endemic to a small area of western Australia.
Acacia sulcata is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves that is endemic to an area of south western Australia.
Acacia cretacea, also known as chalky wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to South Australia.
Acacia quadrilateralis is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae native to north eastern Australia.
Acacia ruppii, commonly known as Rupp's wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae native to eastern Australia. It is listed as endangered in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Acacia microcarpa, commonly known as manna wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae endemic to south eastern Australia.
Acacia curranii, also known as curly-bark wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is native to north eastern Australia. It is listed as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Acacia leptostachya, commonly known as Townsville wattle or slender wattle, is a shrub or small tree belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is native to north eastern Australia.