''Acacia citrinoviridis'', commonly known as black mulga, river jam, milhan or wantan,
is a
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...
in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Fabaceae
Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,[International Code of Nomen ...](_blank)
that is native to western
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
Description
Black mulga typically grows to a height of about
[ and often has a weeping habit.][ It usually has just one trunk] and has grey fissured bark on the trunk and larger branches.[ Like most '']Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...
'' species, it has phyllode
Phyllodes are modified petiole (botany), petioles or leaf stems, which are leaf-like in appearance and function. In some plants, these become flattened and widened, while the leaf itself becomes reduced or vanishes altogether. Thus the phyllode co ...
s rather than true leaves. These are a grey-olive colour, and may be up to long and about wide. The flowers are yellow, and held in cylindrical clusters. The pods are around long and have a lemon-green felty covering. From a distance black mulga is similar to mulga but it can be distinguished by its dark bark.
Distribution
The tree is endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the Pilbara
The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...
and northern parts of the Mid West
The Mid West region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is a sparsely populated region extending from the west coast of Western Australia, about north and south of its administrative centre of Geraldton and inland to east of W ...
regions of Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, it occurs along creeks and river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
s in the semi-arid land north of Carnarvon and Meekatharra where it is often situated in rocky river and creek beds, on stony plains and on rocky ridges growing in stony loam or clay loam, alluvium or red sandy soils.[
]
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2715232
citrinoviridis
Fabales of Australia
Acacias of Western Australia
Plants described in 1976
Taxa named by Mary Tindale
Taxa named by Bruce Maslin