Acacia ligulata A.Cunn. ex Benth.
| Family Fabaceae
Subfamily Mimosoideae
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Common name: small cooba, sandhill wattle, dune wattle
Acacia ligulata A.Cunn. ex Benth. APNI* Synonyms: Acacia bivenosa subsp. wayi (Maiden) Pedley APNI*
Racosperma ligulatum (Benth.) Pedley APNI*
Acacia pallidiramosa Maiden & Blakely APNI*
Description: Erect or spreading shrub 2–4 m high; branchlets yellow-ridged, glabrous to ± hairy.
Phyllodes ± oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, straight or slightly curved, 3–10 cm long, 4–10 mm wide, usually thick, usually glabrous, ± coarsely wrinkled when dry, midvein prominent, lateral veins obscure or not evident, apex obtuse with a mucro; glands commonly 3 with lowermost 2–20 mm above pulvinus and 1 at base of mucro; pulvinus 1.5–3.5 mm long.
Inflorescences usually 2–5 in a raceme or rarely 1 in axil of phyllodes; axis mostly 2–25 mm long; peduncles mostly 2–10 mm long, glabrous; heads globose, 15–24-flowered, 5.5–9 mm diam., bright yellow.
Pods ± straight to curved, ± flat, mostly straight-sided or slightly constricted between seeds (sometimes ± moniliform), 3–9 cm long, 7–11 mm wide, thick, ± woody, glabrous; seeds longitudinal; funicle expanded towards seed, aril yellowish to red.
Flowering: July–October.
Distribution and occurrence: west from the Cobar district; dubiously recorded from near Parkes (CWS) and Wagga Wagga (SWS). widespread in mulga and bluebush communities in western divisions, also in woodland and mallee on dunes.
NSW subdivisions: ?CWS, ?SWS, NWP, SWP, NFWP, SFWP
Other Australian states: Qld Vic. W.A. S.A. N.T.
The name refers to the strap-shaped phyllodes. The Aborigines made a flour from the seeds and used the gum as a food source. The roots are a host for the witchety grub (Xylentes leucomochla). Related to Acacia salicina, the pods of which do not break readily between the seeds. (T. Tame, Acacias of Southeast Australia, 1992).
Text by P.G. Kodela (last updated June 2012)
Taxon concept: P.G. Kodela & G.J. Harden, Flora of NSW Vol. 2 (2002)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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