Acacia acellerata facts for kids

Acacia acellerata is a type of shrub, which is a small, bushy plant. It belongs to the Acacia family, also known as wattles. This particular acacia grows naturally in the Great Southern area of Western Australia.

What Does It Look Like?

This Acacia is a tough, spreading shrub that often grows in a dome shape. It usually reaches a height of about 0.15 to 0.7 metres (0.5 to 2.3 ft), which is less than a meter tall.

Its branches are smooth and do not have any hairs. The plant has special leaf-like parts called phyllodes. These phyllodes are also smooth and stiff. They are attached directly to the stem without a stalk.

The phyllodes can be straight or slightly curved. They are round or nearly round, like a pencil. Each phyllode is about 2.5 to 5 centimetres (1.0 to 2.0 in) long and only about 1.5 millimetres (0.06 in) thick.

This plant blooms, or flowers, between September and October. It produces bright yellow flowers. These flowers grow in small, round clusters, about 3 to 4 mm (0.12 to 0.16 in) across. There are usually two of these flower clusters on each stem where the leaves join.

After the flowers, the plant forms seed pods. These pods are long and thin, with bumps where the seeds are inside. They start out green and turn brown as they get older. The pods can grow up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long and about 2.5 mm (0.10 in) wide.

How Was It Named?

Acacia acellerata was first officially described in 1927. Two important botanists, Joseph Maiden and William Blakely, gave it its scientific name. They wrote about it in a scientific paper called Descriptions of fifty new species and six varieties of western and northern Australian Acacias, and notes on four other species. This paper was published in a journal called the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia.

Sometimes, plants can have other names that are no longer used, called synonyms. For Acacia acellerata, some old names include Racosperma acelleratum and Acacia leptoneura var. pungens.

Where Does It Grow?

This Acacia species grows in certain parts of Western Australia. You can find it on gently rolling plains and along small rivers or streams. It prefers to grow in soils that are made of loam or sandy loam. These are types of soil that have a good mix of sand, silt, and clay.

It grows as part of shrubland communities, which are areas covered mostly by shrubs. Its distribution, or where it is found, is not continuous; it grows in separate patches. You can find it in an area between Cranbrook and east of the Stirling Range. It also grows between Jerramungup and Ravensthorpe.

Sometimes, Acacia acellerata grows alongside other acacia species, like Acacia curvata or Acacia leptoneura.