Barrett's wattle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Barrett's wattle |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Acacia
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| Species: |
barrettiorum
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
The Barrett's wattle (scientific name: Acacia barrettiorum) is a special type of shrub. It belongs to the Acacia family, which is also known as the wattle family. This plant is found only in a specific part of the Kimberley region in Western Australia.
What Does Barrett's Wattle Look Like?
This shrub usually grows to be about 1 to 2.5 meters tall. That's roughly the height of a tall person! Its branches are smooth, meaning they don't have hairs.
Like many Acacia plants, the Barrett's wattle doesn't have regular leaves. Instead, it has something called phyllodes. These are flattened leaf stalks that look and act like leaves. The phyllodes are always green and grow close together. They have a triangular shape and are quite small, usually 1.5 to 3 millimeters long and 1 to 3 millimeters wide. Each phyllode has a few faint lines running along it.
How Barrett's Wattle Got Its Name
The Barrett's wattle was officially named in 2009. Two botanists, Margaret Lewington and Bruce Maslin, described it for the first time. They published their findings in a science journal called Nuytsia.
The plant's common name and its scientific name, barrettiorum, honor two people: Matthew David Barrett and Russell Lindsay Barrett. They were the ones who first collected a sample of this plant for study.
Where Does Barrett's Wattle Grow?
The Barrett's wattle is quite rare. It only grows in the Prince Regent Nature Reserve in the northern part of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. There are only two small groups of these plants known to exist.
You can often find this shrub growing near creeks. It prefers sandy soils that are shallow and cover sandstone rocks. It grows in areas that are protected from fires. The Barrett's wattle is part of a low shrubland community, often found alongside plants like spinifex.
