Kata Tjuta wattle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kata Tjuta wattle |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Acacia
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| Species: |
olgana
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
The Kata Tjuta wattle (scientific name: Acacia olgana) is a special type of shrub or tree. It's also known as the Mount Olga wattle. This plant belongs to the Acacia family, which is a large group of plants. You can find it growing in the middle of Australia.
What Does the Kata Tjuta Wattle Look Like?
This amazing plant can be either a shrub or a tree. It usually grows between 3 and 6 meters (about 10 to 20 feet) tall. Some very tall ones can even reach 15 meters (nearly 50 feet)!
Its bark is rough and a bit cracked. It's usually grey or grey-brown. The branches are often angled and can be light brown or reddish. They are mostly smooth, meaning they don't have hairs.
Instead of regular leaves, this wattle has special parts called phyllodes. These are like flattened leaf stems that do the job of leaves. They stay green all year round. Sometimes, their edges have a reddish color. These phyllodes are flat and long, shaped like a narrow oval. They can be from 6 to 18 centimeters long and 2 to 10 millimeters wide. Each one has a clear central line, like a vein.
How Was This Wattle Named?
A botanist named John Maconochie first officially described this plant. He did this in 1978. His work was published in a science journal called Notes on the genus Acacia in the Northern Territory.
Later, in 1986, another scientist named Leslie Pedley gave it a different name: Racosperma olganum. But in 2006, it was moved back to its original group, Acacia. So, its scientific name is still Acacia olgana.
Where Does the Kata Tjuta Wattle Grow?
The Kata Tjuta wattle grows in different spots across central Australia. You can find it in the far eastern part of Western Australia, in a region called the Goldfields. It also grows in the southern part of the Northern Territory. And you can see it in the north-western area of South Australia.
