Acacia ammobia, commonly known as the Mount Connor wattle,[2] or Mount Conner wattle,[3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to areas near the border between South Australia and the Northern Territory. It is a shrub or small tree with linear phyllodes, flowers arranged in 1 or 2 spikes on side shoots, each spike with densely crowded yellow flowers. The fruit is a linear pods 55–110 mm (2.2–4.3 in) long with dar brown seeds.

Mount Connor wattle
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Acacia
Species:
A. ammobia
Binomial name
Acacia ammobia
Synonyms[1]

Racosperma ammobium (Maconochie) Pedley

Habit in the Australian National Botanic Gardens

Description

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Acacia ammobia is a shrub or small tree that typically grows to 1.5–7 m (4 ft 11 in – 23 ft 0 in) high and has fibrous bark. Its phyllodes are linear, flat, 110–270 mm (4.3–10.6 in) long, 4–9 mm (0.16–0.35 in) wide and leathery, tapering at both ends. There is a conspicuous gland 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) from the base of the phyllode. The flowers are yellow, and arranged in 1 or 2 densely flowered, cylindrical spikes 20–50 mm (0.79–1.97 in) long. Flowering occurs from August to October, and the fruit is a dark brown, leathery, linear pod, 55–110 mm (2.2–4.3 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) wide containing dark brown, flattened seeds 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy

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Acacia ammobia was first formally described by the botanist John Maconochie in 1978 in the Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens from specimens he collected about 30 km (19 mi) east of Ayers Rock in 1972.[5][6] The specific epithet (ammobia) is a Latin word meaning 'sand dweller'.[7]

Distribution and habitat

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Mount Conner wattle is found in arid parts of inland Australia where it has a limited distribution in the north-western parts of South Australia and southern parts of the Northern Territory between 130 km (81 mi) and 50 km (31 mi) west of Uluru, where it is often grows on the upper slopes of hills and ranges in sandy or gravelly soils on upper slopes of ranges.[2][3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Acacia ammobia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Acacia ammobia, Mt. Connor Wattle" (PDF). Government of South Australia. 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Court, Arthur B.; Maslin, Bruce R.; Kodela, Phillip G. "Acacia ammobia". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Acacia ammobia". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Acacia ammobia". APNI. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  6. ^ Maconochie, John (1978). "Notes on the genus Acacia in the Northern Territory". Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. 1 (3): 180–181. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  7. ^ Stearn, William T. (1992). Botanical Latin - History, Grammar, Syntax, Terminology and Vocabulary. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. p. 367.
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