''Acacia dawsonii'' commonly known as Dawson's wattle or poverty wattle or mitta wattle,
is a flowering shrub in the family
Fabaceae
Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,[International Code of Nomen ...](_blank)
. It has yellow ball flowers, short stalks and is found along parts of the east coast of Australia.
Description
''Acacia dawsonii'' is an erect shrub growing to a height of , with appressed branchlets that are hairy between resinous ridges. The evergreen
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 are straight to slightly curved with a very narrowly elliptic to linear shape and a length of and a width of with up to ten longitudinal veins of which one or two are usually more prominent that the others.
The golden yellow flowers are borne in
raceme
A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...
s in leaf axils,
peduncles long and globular. Flowering occurs from September to October and the fruit is a linear pod up to long, wide, straight or with a slight curve, stiff, leathery and smooth.
Taxonomy and naming
''Acacia dawsonii'' was first formally described in 1897 by
Richard Baker and the description was published in ''
Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales
The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales (Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884.
History
The Society succ ...
''. The
specific epithet
In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...
(''dawsonii'') is named in honour of Mr. J Dawson.
Distribution and habitat
Dawson's wattle grows in grassland and eucalypt woodland in rocky, clay or sandy soils to an area down the east coast from as far north as south east
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
,
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, north east
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
in the south and the Australian Capital Territory.
It is not widely cultivated but is quite hardy and suitable for a wide range of climates.
See also
* List of Acacia species
There are 1085 species of ''Acacia'' accepted by Plants of the World Online as at December 2024, with species native to Australia, New Guinea, Southeast Asia, Hawaii and the Mascarene Islands, and introduced to other countries.
An older concept ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9563885
dawsonii
Flora of Victoria (state)
Flora of New South Wales
Taxa named by Richard Thomas Baker
Plants described in 1897
Flora of Queensland
Flora of the Australian Capital Territory