Acacia sphenophylla facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Acacia sphenophylla |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Acacia
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| Species: |
sphenophylla
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
Acacia sphenophylla is a type of shrub that belongs to the Acacia family. It is found only in a small part of western Australia. This plant is also known as a wattle.
Contents
About the Acacia sphenophylla Plant
This shrub usually grows between 0.3 and 1.3 meters (about 1 to 4 feet) tall. It spreads out and has many branches that can feel sharp or prickly. Its young branches might be smooth (called glabrous) or a bit hairy. Sometimes, they are covered with a fine white powder at the very ends.
Leaves and Flowers
Like most Acacia plants, Acacia sphenophylla has special leaf-like parts called phyllodes instead of true leaves. These phyllodes point upwards and have a unique wedge or triangle shape. They are green and can be smooth or have a few hairs. Each phyllode is about 3 to 11 millimeters long and 1.5 to 5 millimeters wide.
The plant blooms with yellow flowers from July to August. Its flowers grow in small, round or oval-shaped clusters. Each cluster has about 15 to 30 golden-colored flowers.
Seed Pods
After the flowers bloom, the plant forms black seed pods. These pods are firm and look a bit like a string of beads. They are often coiled or twisted. Inside the pods are small, oval-shaped seeds, each about 2 millimeters long.
How Acacia sphenophylla Got Its Name
A botanist named Bruce Maslin first officially described this plant in 1999. A botanist is a scientist who studies plants. He wrote about it in a scientific paper.
Later, in 2003, another botanist named Leslie Pedley gave it a different name, Racosperma sphenophyllum. However, in 2006, it was moved back to the Acacia family. This plant looks a lot like Acacia acanthoclada subsp. glaucescens and also Acacia pravifolia, which can sometimes make them hard to tell apart.
Where Acacia sphenophylla Grows
This plant is endemic to a specific area in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Being endemic means it is found naturally only in that particular place.
It often grows on low hills and sandy plains. You can usually find it in sandy or sandy-loam soils. The area where it grows stretches from near Geraldton in the south to about 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) north of the Murchison River. It is typically part of mixed open scrub, tall shrubland, or open heathland plant communities.
