Common name: tiny wattle
Acacia baueri Benth. APNI* Synonyms: Racosperma baueri (Benth.) Pedley APNI*
Description: Decumbent to spreading shrub 0.1–1 m high; branchlets ± terete, hairy or glabrous.
Phyllodes usually whorled or scattered, straight or slightly curved, ± terete, 0.5–1.6 cm long, c. 1 mm wide, leathery, subglaucous, glabrous or sparsely hairy (glabrescent), with a longitudinal groove on each surface, veins obscure or not evident; glands absent; pulvinus < 1 mm long.
Inflorescences simple, 1 in axil of phyllodes; peduncles 2–16 mm long, glabrous to sparsely minutely hairy; heads globose, 8–20-flowered, 3–5 mm diam., bright yellow.
Pods slightly curved, ± flat, mostly straight-sided or barely constricted between seeds, 1–2.7 cm long, 2.5–4 mm wide, thinly leathery, finely longitudinally striate, glabrous or with sparse ± appressed hairs mainly when young; seeds longitudinal; funicle filiform or expanded towards seed.
Flowering: usually September–June.
Distribution and occurrence: north from the Illawarra region. Grows in coastal heath and on sandstone plateaus in exposed, rocky or damp areas.
NSW subdivisions: NC, CC, CT
Other Australian states: Qld
Named after botanical artist Ferdinand Lukas Bauer (1760-1826) who in 1801 was appointed botanical draughtsman to Flinder's expedition. Intermediates between the subspecies have been recorded from La Perouse, near Mt Keira and near East Kangaloon.
Text by P.G. Kodela (last updated February 2009) Taxon concept: P.G. Kodela & G.J. Harden, Flora of NSW Vol. 2 (2002)
| Key to the subspecies | |
1 | Phyllodes in regular whorls 0.5–2 cm apart, not conspicuously warty; peduncles 5–16 mm long. Heads 10–20-flowered. | subsp. baueri |
| Phyllodes rather crowded, scattered or in irregular whorls, warty; peduncles 2–4 mm long. Heads usually 8–10-flowered. | subsp. aspera |
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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