Acacia wickhamii facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Acacia wickhamii |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Acacia
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| Species: |
wickhamii
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| Where Acacia wickhamii grows in Australia | |
Acacia wickhamii is a type of shrub, which is a small, bushy plant. It belongs to a large group of plants called Acacia, also known as wattles. This particular acacia is special because it's endemic to parts of northern Australia. This means it naturally grows only in that specific area and nowhere else in the world!
What Does Acacia wickhamii Look Like?
This shrub usually grows between 0.25 meters (about 10 inches) and 2.5 meters (about 8 feet) tall. It can grow straight up or spread out low to the ground. Its branches often start from or near the bottom of the plant.
The bark on its trunk is smooth or has very small cracks. It's often a grey color. The young branches are smooth (this is called glabrous) and have small, wavy ridges that look like they have resin on them.
Instead of regular leaves, Acacia wickhamii has special leaf-like parts called phyllodes. These are green and can be shaped like a narrow spear, a wide oval, or a wide ellipse. They are usually between 0.4 and 3 centimeters long and 1.5 to 10 millimeters wide.
This plant blooms from March to July, or sometimes in September. It produces bright yellow flowers. These flowers grow in groups called inflorescences. They can be shaped like an oval or a spike, measuring 0.5 to 3.5 centimeters long. Sometimes, the flower-heads are round, about 0.3 centimeters across. The flowers themselves are yellow to bright yellow or orange-yellow.
After the flowers, thin, brown, woody seed pods form. These pods can be shaped like a narrow upside-down spear, a narrow ellipse, or a straight line. They are flat and measure 2 to 9 centimeters long and 3.5 to 10 millimeters wide. Inside these pods are brown to dark-brown seeds. The seeds are usually narrow oblong-elliptic or oblong-elliptic in shape, and they are about 2.5 to 5 millimeters long.
How Was Acacia wickhamii Named?
The first time this plant was officially described was in 1842. A botanist, which is a scientist who studies plants, named George Bentham gave it its formal description. This was part of a larger work by William Jackson Hooker called Notes on Mimoseae, with a synopsis of species. This work was published in a science magazine called the London Journal of Botany.
Later, in 1987, another botanist named Leslie Pedley reclassified it. He changed its name to Racosperma wickhamii. But then, in 2006, it was changed back to its original genus, Acacia.
There are also four known types of Acacia wickhamii that are slightly different from each other. These are called subspecies:
- Acacia wickhamii subsp. cassitera
- Acacia wickhamii subsp. viscidula
- Acacia wickhamii subsp. parviphyllodinea
- Acacia wickhamii subsp. wickhamii
Where Does Acacia wickhamii Grow?
This plant is native to a region in Western Australia called the Kimberley. You can find it growing along the edges of rivers and streams, and on stony plains. It can grow in many different types of soil, often over or around sandstone and shale rocks.
You can also find Acacia wickhamii in the Barkly Tableland and Katherine regions of the Northern Territory. It also grows in northern Queensland.
