Acacia pravissima

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids  > Fagales > Fabaceae > Acacia  pravissma

Other links:     

Plant information 

Common name:                Wedge-leaved Wattle  

• Also, Ovens wattle, Oven wattle and Tumut wattle

Conservation status:  ...

Etymology:   

• Borrowed from Latin acacia, from Ancient Greek ἀκακία (akakía) "a thorny Egyptian tree", from ἀκή (akḗ) "point, thorn

• The Latin specific epithet pravissima means "very crooked"

Flowers:                  

• It produces racemes of ball-shaped yellow flowers in winter and spring

• The prolific inflorescences have spherical flower-heads with a diameter of 5 to 6 mm containing 8 to 12 golden coloured flowers

Fruit:                         

• Chartaceous and glabrous seed pods form that have a narrowly oblong shape with a length of up to 8 cm and a width of 6 to 9 mm 

• The dull black seeds inside have an oblong to ovate shape with a length of 3 to 5 mm and a clavate aril

Leaves:         

• It has phyllodes rather than true leaves

• The grey-green coloured and crowded, on short stem-projections

• The glabrous phyllodes are quite inequilateral with an obdeltate shape with a length of 7 to 16 mm and a width of 5 to 14 mm 

Stem & branches: 

• Slender to spreading branches

• The ribbed branchlets can be either glabrous or hairy

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A tree or shrub typically grows to a height of 0.5 to 3 m but can grow as tall as 8 m

Habitat:   

• It is often situated damp sheltered sites and along creeks and streams usually as a part of Eucalyptus forest and woodland communities

Distribution:                  

• Endemic to south-eastern Australia

• Native to Victoria, the South West Slopes and Southern Tablelands of NSW, Australia

• In the more elevated areas of the Great Dividing Range from around Tumut in NSW in the north through the Cotter Range and ACT down to around the Strathbogie Range and Macalister River in Victoria

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • A species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae

  • The species was first formally described in 1853 by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller as a part of the work First general report of the Government Botanist on the vegetation of the colony

  • Victoria as published in the Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly of the Victorian Parliament. It was reclassified as Racosperma pravissimum by Leslie Pedley in 2006 then returned to genus Acacia in 2006

• Use in horticulture

  • Ovens wattle is hardy and easy to grow

  • It can be propagated from scarified seed and grows in most soils, in full sun or part shade, preferring well-drained soil

  • It is frosty hardy to −7 °C

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_pravissima (2023)