Common name: Wyalong wattle
Acacia cardiophylla A.Cunn. ex Benth. APNI* Synonyms: Racosperma cardiophyllum (A.Cunn. ex Benth.) Pedley APNI*
Description: Erect to spreading shrub or small tree 1–3.5 m high, often multi-stemmed; bark smooth, dark grey or sometimes mottled with brown; branchlets obscurely angled but soon terete, hairy becoming subglabrous.
Leaves ± sessile on pulvinus or petiole to 0.2 cm long above pulvinus; rachis 1–6 cm long, hairy, minute circular jugary glands present (largest gland at basal pair of pinnae) but often absent or appearing to be absent from some or most pairs of pinnae, interjugary glands absent; pinnae mostly 8–19 pairs (some leaves with 3–7 pairs), 0.2–1.2 cm long; pinnules 4–14 pairs, mostly ± ovate to ± circular, often ± incurved when dry, minutely warty, 0.8–1.5 mm or rarely to 2 mm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, hairy.
Inflorescences 6–21 in an axillary raceme with ± zig-zagged axis 1.2–6 cm long or in ± terminal panicles; peduncles 1–3 mm long, hairy or rarely glabrous; heads globose, 20–40-flowered, 3–5 mm diam., bright yellow.
Pods straight to slightly curved, ± flat, mostly barely to slightly constricted between seeds, 1.5–11.5 cm long, 4–6.5 mm wide, firmly papery to thinly leathery, hairy; seeds longitudinal; funicle filiform.
Flowering: August–November.
Distribution and occurrence: Gilgandra south and west to Wagga Wagga and Lake Cargelligo area. Naturalised on Central Coast and Southern Tablelands from garden escapes. Grows in eucalypt woodland and mallee communities, in level red sandy earths and shallow stony ridge soils.
NSW subdivisions: *CC, *ST, CWS, SWS, SWP
The name 'cardiophylla' refers to the heart shaped (= cordate) pinnules. A widely cultivated shrub with attractive foliage, adaptable to a variety of situations and soils. Acacia cardiophylla ‘Gold Lace’ is a prostrate cultivar (T. Tame, Acacias of Southeast Australia, 1992). A. cardiophylla has the capacity to become naturalised as the seed readily germinates in disturbed sites.
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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