Club-tipped whorled wattle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Club-tipped whorled wattle |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Acacia
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| Species: |
claviseta
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Acacia claviseta, also called the club-tipped whorled wattle, is a type of shrub. It belongs to the Acacia family. This plant grows naturally only in northwestern Australia. This means it is endemic to that area.
What Does It Look Like?
This shrub is a bit sticky, which is what "viscid" means. It usually grows to be about 0.6 to 0.8 meters (2 to 2.6 feet) tall. The plant stands upright and has many branches. Its small branches are covered with thick, woolly yellow or white hairs. They also have tiny, stiff, bristle-like parts called stipules, which are 1 to 2.5 millimeters long.
Like most Acacia plants, the club-tipped whorled wattle has phyllodes instead of true leaves. Phyllodes are flattened leaf stems that act like leaves. These green phyllodes stay on the plant all year. They grow in tight groups of 9 to 15. Each phyllode stands up straight or points upwards. They are 3 to 8 millimeters long and 0.3 to 0.4 millimeters wide. They can be round like a pencil (terete) or mostly flat. They are also quite hairy. You cannot see any veins running along them. This wattle blooms with yellow flowers. It flowers in February and March, and again in July and August.
Where Does It Grow?
The club-tipped whorled wattle is found in the Northern Territory and the eastern Kimberley area of Western Australia. You can find it in a few separate spots. These include areas south of Kununurra on Bedford Downs Station. It also grows in the Osmond Range and near Pompeys Pillar. This is north of Warmun in Western Australia.
Its range stretches east into the Keep River National Park in the Northern Territory. This park is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the northeast. The plant mostly grows on rocky slopes (scree slopes) and flat sandy areas. You can also find it on sandstone ridges and in sandy patches among large sandstone rocks. It grows in scrubland communities, which are areas with many shrubs and small trees.
