Common name: Murray's wattle
Acacia murrayana F.Muell. ex Benth. APNI* Synonyms: Racosperma murrayanum (F.Muell. ex Benth.) Pedley APNI*
Acacia frumentacea Tate APNI*
Description: Erect bushy shrub or spreading tree usually 2–6 m high, often suckers freely; bark smooth, finely fissured or corrugated towards base, grey or pale; branchlets ± terete, glabrous, often pruinose.
Phyllodes linear to ± narrowly oblanceolate, straight or slightly curved, usually 8–18 cm long, 2–7 mm wide (rarely to 11 mm wide), green to glaucous, glabrous, midvein not prominent, lateral veins faint, longitudinally anastomosing, often finely longitudinally wrinkled when dry, apex mostly obtuse with a mucro; 1 gland at base and another at base of mucro; pulvinus 1–2 mm long.
Inflorescences 2–10 in an axillary raceme or on short axis < 1 cm long; raceme axis 1–5 cm long; peduncles 4–10 mm long, glabrous; heads globose, 30–50-flowered, 6–8 mm diam., bright yellow.
Pods ± straight or sometimes curved, ± flat except rounded over seeds, ± straight-sided to barely or irregularly more deeply constricted between seeds, 3.5–11 cm long, 8–13 mm wide, papery, glabrous; seeds transverse; funicle filiform.
Flowering: usually September–November.
Distribution and occurrence: West from the Pilliga Scrub and north from Matakane. a few naturalised trees near Dubbo. Grows in various woodland and Spinifex communities and Mulga scrub, often in red sandy loam or sometimes clay loams.
NSW subdivisions: *CWS, NWP, SWP, NFWP, SFWP
Other Australian states: Qld W.A. S.A. N.T.
Similar to Acacia jennerae which usually has more glands along the margin and longitudinal seeds in the legumes. The species is named after Dr James Patrick Murray, a member (surgeon and plant collector) of Howitt’s Expedition of 1862, who collected specimens at Coopers Creek.
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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