Acacia hystrix facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Acacia hystrix |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Acacia
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| Species: |
hystrix
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
Acacia hystrix is a cool type of shrub. It belongs to a big group of plants called Acacia. This plant is special because it only grows in the southwestern part of Australia. When a plant only grows in one specific place, it's called endemic.
What It Looks Like
This shrub is usually quite bushy. It grows to be about 0.3 to 1.0 meter (or 1 to 3 feet) tall. It can look rounded or shaped like an upside-down cone.
Its small branches are smooth, meaning they don't have any hairs. They have tiny, hard-to-see parts called stipules that fall off early.
Like most Acacia plants, Acacia hystrix doesn't have regular leaves. Instead, it has special leaf-like parts called phyllodes. These phyllodes stand up straight. They are often connected almost all the way along the branches.
The phyllodes are sharp and stiff. They are also smooth and have five clear, shiny yellow or yellow-green lines. Each phyllode is about 2 to 6 centimeters long and 1 to 2 millimeters thick.
When it flowers, you'll see small, round clusters of bright golden flowers. These flower clusters usually grow in pairs where the phyllodes meet the stem. Each cluster has about 10 to 13 flowers.
After the flowers, seed pods grow. These pods are firm but thin, like paper or leather. They are shaped like a rectangle, either wide or narrow. The pods are smooth and hang downwards. They can be up to 2.5 centimeters long and 3 to 5 millimeters wide.
Inside the pods, the seeds are arranged either straight or at a slight angle. The seeds are shiny brown. They are shaped like an oval or an upside-down oval and are about 2.2 to 2.7 millimeters long.
How It Was Named
A botanist named Bruce Maslin first officially described this plant in 1999. He wrote about it in a science paper called Acacia miscellany 16. This paper was published in a journal called Nuytsia.
Later, in 2003, another scientist named Leslie Pedley changed its name to Racosperma hystrix. But then, in 2006, it was moved back to the Acacia group.
There are two main types, or subspecies, of Acacia hystrix:
- Acacia hystrix subsp. continua
- Acacia hystrix subsp. hystrix
Where It Grows
Acacia hystrix naturally grows in the Wheatbelt and Goldfields-Esperance areas of Western Australia. It likes to grow in sandy or loamy soils. You can find it from places like Kulin in the west to areas around Lake Gilmore in the east.
