Northern silver wattle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Northern silver wattle |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Acacia
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| Species: |
leucoclada
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
Acacia leucoclada, commonly known as the northern silver wattle, is a species of Acacia native to eastern Australia.
Description
The tree typically grows to a height of 2.5 to 20 metres (8 to 66 ft) and has smooth grey bark that becomes rough and fissured. It has angled to terete ridged branchlets. The tips of immature foliage are a silvery to whitish, coloured and densely haired. The silvery to green and herbaceous or subcoriaceous leaves form along 2 to 9.5 cm (0.79 to 3.74 in) long rachis with 5 to 18 pairs of pinnae that are 1.5 to 5.5 cm (0.59 to 2.17 in) in length. There are 11 to 45 pairs of pinnules that have a narrowly oblend shape and are 1 to 6 mm (0.039 to 0.236 in) in length with a single vein. It blooms between July and October producing simple inflorescences in axillary and terminal racemes supported on 1 to 7 mm (0.039 to 0.276 in) long hairy stalks. The spherical flower-heads have a diameter of 4 to 7 mm (0.16 to 0.28 in) and contain 20 to 26 yellow to bright yellow flowers. The seed pods that form after flowering are straight to slightly curved and occasionally twisted. The thinly leathery pods are more or less flat and often slightly constricted between the seeds with a length of 3 to 12 cm (1.2 to 4.7 in) and a width of 4.5 to 12 mm (0.18 to 0.47 in) and are usually have a fine white powdery coating.
Taxonomy and naming
A. leucoclada was first described in 1966, by Mary Tindale. The specific epithet, leucoclada, derives from two Greek words: leucos (white) and clados (shoot/sprout) which were combined to give leucocladus, - a, -um, describing the plant as having white shoots.
Distribution
The range of A. leucoclada extends from south-eastern Queensland to the north coast, tablelands region, the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range, the central coast, Hunter River valley and Pilliga scrub regions of New South Wales. It is mostly found as far south as Wagga and is often part of sclerophyll woodland communities growing in a variety of different habitats and soil types.
