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Big mac wattle facts for kids

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Big mac wattle
Scientific classification
Genus:
Acacia
Species:
macraneura
Acacia macraneuraDistMap571.png

Acacia macraneura, often called big mac wattle, is a type of shrub. It belongs to the Acacia plant family. This plant grows naturally in the dry, desert-like areas of western Australia.

About the Big Mac Wattle

This shrub usually has many stems and grows to be about 2 to 5 meters (6.5 to 16 feet) tall. It spreads out wide. Sometimes, it can even grow into a small tree, reaching 4 to 7 meters (13 to 23 feet) tall. These trees often have bent stems and branches.

The small branches might have tiny hairs and faint, sticky lines near their ends. Like most Acacia plants, the big mac wattle doesn't have true leaves. Instead, it has special leaf-like parts called phyllodes. These phyllodes are green or grey-green with a hint of blue. They can be curved or wavy. Each phyllode is usually round and thin, about 4 to 9 centimeters (1.5 to 3.5 inches) long. They are very narrow, only about 0.8 to 1.1 millimeters wide. You might see many faint lines running along them.

Where It Grows

The big mac wattle is found only in certain parts of Western Australia. This means it is endemic to these areas. You can find it scattered across the Mid West and Pilbara regions.

Its home stretches from places like Mount Magnet in the southwest to Leonora in the southeast. It also grows in the Pilbara region, near the Rudall River area, and in the Little Sandy Desert. Some smaller groups of these plants are found close to the border with South Australia.

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