Peak Charles wattle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Peak Charles wattle |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Acacia
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| Species: |
incongesta
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The Acacia incongesta, also known as the Peak Charles wattle, is a type of shrub. It belongs to the Acacia plant family. This special plant is found only in a small area of southwestern Australia. When a plant or animal is found only in one specific place, we say it is endemic to that area.
Contents
About the Peak Charles Wattle
What Does It Look Like?
This wattle is a thick, rounded shrub that usually grows between 0.6 and 4 meters (about 2 to 13 feet) tall. Its branches are smooth, which means they don't have any hairs.
Like many Acacia plants, the Peak Charles wattle doesn't have true leaves. Instead, it has what are called phyllodes. These are flattened leaf stems that do the job of leaves. The phyllodes of this wattle are always green and grow pointing upwards. They are narrow and shaped like an ellipse, sometimes slightly curved. They are usually 4 to 7 centimeters (about 1.5 to 2.7 inches) long and 3 to 4.5 millimeters (about 0.1 to 0.17 inches) wide. They feel a bit stiff and have three clear, raised lines on them.
Flowers and Seeds
The Peak Charles wattle blooms from March to June, producing pretty cream-colored flowers. Its flowers grow in pairs where the phyllodes meet the stem. They form cylinder-shaped spikes that are 15 to 25 millimeters (about 0.6 to 1 inch) long and 3 to 4.5 millimeters wide. These spikes are packed with cream-colored flowers.
After the flowers, the plant grows long, thin seed pods that hang down. These pods are smooth and can be up to 10.5 centimeters (about 4 inches) long and 4 millimeters wide. The pods look a bit bumpy because they are raised over each seed inside. The seeds themselves are shiny black, broadly oval, and 3 to 4 millimeters long. Each seed has a small, fleshy cap at its tip called an aril.
Where Does It Grow?
The Peak Charles wattle is found in a very specific place: near Peak Charles in the Peak Charles National Park in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It likes to grow on sandy soils found on granite mountain slopes and flat clay areas.
Peak Charles National Park is located about 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) south of Norseman. This wattle is usually part of low heathland communities, which are areas with many small shrubs.
