Thin-leaf wattle | |
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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. aculeatissima
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Binomial name | |
Acacia aculeatissima | |
Occurrence data from AVH |
Acacia aculeatissima, commonly known as thin-leaf wattle or snake wattle, [1] is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is native to parts of eastern Australia.
The shrub has an erect to decumbent habit and typically grows to a height of 0.3 to 1 m (1 ft 0 in to 3 ft 3 in) [2] and has ribbed stems that are covered in stiff short hairs. The phyllodes are fine and prickly with a length of 5 to 12 mm (0.20 to 0.47 in) and a width of 0.5 to 1 mm (0.020 to 0.039 in) and have four veins that are usually bent downwards. [3] It blooms between August and November and produces inflorescences with pale yellow flowers. [2] Each inflorescence occurs a one to three spherical flowers on individual stalks found in the leaf axils. After flowering narrow seed pods form that are straight or shallowly curved to with a length of around 6 cm (2.4 in). [3]
The species was first formally described by the botanist James Francis Macbride in 1919 in the article Notes on certain Leguminosae s published in the Contributions of the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University. The only synonyms are Acacia tenuifolia and Racosperma aculeatissimum. [4]
It is found in south western New South Wales where it is considered rare, and in Victoria where it is more common. It is often a part of Eucalypt forest communities and grows in sandy loamy clay soils over sedimentary substrate. [2]