Common name: umbrella mulga, turpentine mulga, grey mulga, false bowgada
Acacia brachystachya Benth. APNI* Synonyms: Racosperma brachystachyum (Benth.) Pedley APNI*
Acacia cibaria F.Muell. APNI*
Acacia aneura var. stenocarpa F.Muell. APNI*
Description: Erect or spreading tree or shrub 2–6 m high; bark smooth to fissured, grey; branchlets angled or terete, ± appressed-hairy to almost glabrous.
Phyllodes ± rigid, linear, straight or slightly curved, 8–16 cm long, 2–3 mm wide, ± glaucous, appressed-hairy, longitudinal veins numerous, closely-spaced, obscure, apex acute with a mucro; 1 gland at base; pulvinus < 2 mm long.
Inflorescences 1 or 2 in axil of phyllodes; peduncles 2–8 mm long, hairy; heads cylindrical, usually 1.3–2 cm long, bright yellow.
Pods ± straight, slightly flattened, straight-sided to slightly constricted between seeds, 2–8 cm long, usually 4–8 mm wide, silvery to greyish appressed-hairy between yellowish to brownish, sparsely anastomosing longitudinal veins (appearing ± striate) or longitudinally reticulate veins, sometimes glabrescent with age, resinous; seeds longitudinal; funicle filiform.
Flowering: usually April–August, and irregularly depending upon weather conditions.
Distribution and occurrence: west from Narromine and Griffith districts. Common in Mulga and heath, on sandhills and rocky ridges.
NSW subdivisions: CWS, NWP, SWP, NFWP, SFWP
Other Australian states: Qld W.A. S.A. N.T.
Related to and easily confused with Acacia ramulosa and Acacia aneura, both of which differ from A. brachystachya in the detail of the pods. It is frequently parasitised by the mistletoe Lysiana exocarpi subsp. diamantinensis. The name refers to the short inflorescence spike.
Text by P.G. Kodela (last edit Apr 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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