Acacia filipes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Acacia filipes |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Acacia
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| Species: |
filipes
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Acacia filipes is a type of shrub, a small bush, that belongs to the Acacia family. It's special because it only grows in a small part of northern Australia. This means it's endemic there, found nowhere else naturally!
Contents
What Does Acacia filipes Look Like?
This shrub usually grows to about 1 metre (3 ft) tall. It can also spread out to about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) wide. Its branches are thin and have edges, like ribs. They also feel a bit sticky, which means they are resinous.
Leaves and Flowers
Most Acacia plants, including this one, don't have regular leaves. Instead, they have something called phyllodes. These are like flattened leaf stems that do the job of leaves. The phyllodes of Acacia filipes are always green. They are also round and smooth, meaning they are glabrous.
These phyllodes are quite long, from 8.5 to 15 cm (3.3 to 5.9 in). They are very thin, only about 0.4 to 0.8 mm (0.016 to 0.031 in) across. Each phyllode has a pointed tip and eight lines, or nerves, running along it.
The plant blooms, or flowers, in February. It then produces fruits in May. Its flowers grow in cylinder-shaped spikes. These spikes are about 10 to 25 mm (0.39 to 0.98 in) long. They grow in pairs on thin stalks, called peduncles, which are about 35 to 45 mm (1.4 to 1.8 in) long.
Seeds and Pods
After the flowers are gone, the plant grows woody, flat seed pods. These pods are long and narrow, about 4 to 4.5 cm (1.6 to 1.8 in) long and 2.5 to 3 mm (0.098 to 0.118 in) wide. Inside these pods are dark grey seeds. Each seed is about 3 mm (0.12 in) long and 1.5 mm (0.059 in) wide. They have a small, cup-shaped part called an aril attached to them.
Where Does Acacia filipes Grow?
This special shrub is found only in a small area of Kakadu National Park. This park is in the Northern Territory of Australia. It grows mostly in a place called Deaf Adder Gorge.
You can find Acacia filipes on top of sandstone escarpments. These are steep, rocky cliffs made of sandstone. It grows as part of the open woodland areas there.
