Acacia phasmoides
Phantom Wattle
Phantom Wattle
Wikipedia links: Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids > Fagales > Fabaceae > Acacia phasmoides
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Overview:
Acacia phasmoides, the phantom wattle, is a shrub species that is endemic to south-eastern Australia
Common name: Phantom Wattle
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Etymology:
Borrowed from Latin acacia, from Ancient Greek ἀκακία (akakía) "a thorny Egyptian tree", from ἀκή (akḗ) "point, thorn
The epithet was bestowed in order to emphasise the extremely open, wraith-like appearance of this insubstantial shrub
Flowers:
The bright yellow globular flowerheads appear singly or in groups of two in the axils of the phyllodes from September to November
Fruit:
Curved seed pods which are 5 to 9 cm long and 2 to 4 mm wide
Leaves:
Stem & branches:
Roots:
Habit:
It grows to between 1 and 4 m high and has phyllodes that are 5 to 12.5 cm long and 1 to 2 mm wide
Habitat:
Distribution:
Endemic to south-eastern Australia
Its distribution is limited to a small area on the border between south-eastern NSW and north-eastern Victoria
In NSW it is found along the southern edge of Woomargama National Park and has an estimated population of 2000 plants
In Victoria it is found in the Burrowa-Pine Mountain National Park from two stands east of the summit of Pine Mountain with nine plants in one stand and between 150 and 250 in the other
The Victorian populations are located approximately 35 km (22 mi) from the NSW populations
Additional notes:
Taxonomy
The species was formally described in 1967 by botanist Jim Willis based on plant material collected from Pine Mountain in north-eastern Victoria
It was reclassified as Racosperma phasmoides by Leslie Pedley in 2003 and then transferred back to genus Acacia in 2006
Sources of information: