Common name: spindly wattle
Acacia debilis Tindale APNI* Synonyms: Racosperma debile (Tindale) Pedley APNI*
Description: Erect or spreading shrub to tree 2.5–6 m high; bark smooth, greyish or reddish green; branchlets terete, inconspicuously longitudinally ridged to smooth, glabrous.
Leaves with petiole 1–4 cm long, glabrous, with 1 prominent elongated gland; rachis 1–7 cm long, glabrous, usually with 1 jugary gland at base of all or some pairs of pinnae, interjugary glands absent; pinnae 1–4 pairs, 3–9.5 cm long; pinnules 5–17 pairs, ± oblong to narrowly oblong, 6–20 mm long, 2–6 mm wide, glabrous.
Inflorescences 8–25 in an axillary raceme or mostly in panicles; axis 2–20 cm long; peduncles 3–8 mm long, glabrous; heads globose, 15–33-flowered, 4–7.5 mm diam., bright yellow or yellow. Calyx 0.6–1.1 mm long, lobes triangular.
Pods straight to slightly curved, ± flat, ± straight-sided or irregularly and mostly only slightly constricted between seeds, 5.5–13.5 cm long, 9–13.5 mm wide, thinly leathery, glabrous, slightly pruinose; seeds longitudinal; funicle filiform.
Flowering: July–September.
Distribution and occurrence: north from the Pilliga Scrub. Grows in dry sclerophyll forest and woodland in sandy soils, often on creek banks.
NSW subdivisions: NT, NWS, NWP
Other Australian states: Qld
The name refers to the rather weak habit of the plant. Closely related to Acacia pruinosa which has usually larger flower heads with more flowers per head and spathulate calyx lobes.
Text by P.G. Kodela (March 2006)
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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