Common name: red-tip wattle
Acacia betchei Maiden & Blakely APNI* Synonyms: Racosperma betchei (Maiden & Blakely) Pedley APNI*
Description: Erect or spreading shrub to 4 m high or sometimes tree to 5 m high; branchlets angled or flattened at extremities, glabrous.
Phyllodes linear, straight to slightly curved, usually 6–10 cm long (range: 4–11 cm long), 2–3 mm wide, glabrous, midvein obscure, lateral veins not evident, finely wrinkled when dry, apex obtuse sometimes with a mucro; 1 small gland near middle or in upper half of margin, often absent; pulvinus 0.5–2.5 mm long.
Inflorescences 5–15 in an axillary raceme, sometimes in terminal panicles; axis usually 1.5–5 cm long; peduncles 2–8 mm long, glabrous; heads globose, 12–28-flowered, 4.5–6.5 mm diam., bright yellow to pale yellow.
Pods straight to curved, ± flat, mostly barely or slightly constricted between seeds, 5–16 cm long, 5–7.5 mm wide, ± leathery, glabrous; seeds longitudinal; funicle short, expanded towards seed.
Flowering: usually January–March, also recorded May, July, November and probably flowers other times of the year.
Distribution and occurrence: chiefly in the Torrington district and the Granite Belt in Qld. Grows in dry sclerophyll forest, woodland and heath, on granite outcrops.
NSW subdivisions: NT, NWS, CWS
Other Australian states: Qld
Named after Ernst Betche (1851-1913) who was a collector and botanical assistant at the Botanic Gardens in Sydney, and collaborated on several books on the flora of New South Wales. Acacia betchei is similar to A. adunca, which has a gland below the margin centre.
Text by P.G. Kodela (updated 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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