Senna wattle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Senna wattle |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Acacia
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| Species: |
praemorsa
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
Acacia praemorsa is a special kind of tree or bush. It belongs to a group of plants called Acacia, which are often known as wattles. This plant only grows in southern Australia. It is considered a vulnerable plant, which means it needs protection because there aren't many left. In South Australia, it's even called endangered.
What Does the Senna Wattle Look Like?
This bush is usually smooth, meaning it has no hairs. It can grow to be about 1 to 3 meters (3 to 10 feet) tall. Its branches have sharp angles at their ends.
Like most Acacia plants, it doesn't have regular leaves. Instead, it has special flattened stems called phyllodes. These phyllodes are long and narrow, like lines, and they curve slightly inwards. They stay green all year round. Each phyllode is about 2 to 9 centimeters long and 1 to 2.5 millimeters wide.
The phyllodes are thick, flat, and feel smooth. However, when they dry out, they get tiny wrinkles that run lengthwise. They don't have a main vein like many leaves, but they do have two small glands.
When the Acacia praemorsa blooms, it grows single flower clusters. These clusters are round and packed with 34 to 58 bright golden flowers. They grow along a short stem that is about 1.5 to 3.5 millimeters long.
After the flowers, seed pods start to form. These pods are long and flat, like ribbons. They can be up to 13.5 centimeters long and 5 to 8.5 millimeters wide. Inside, you'll find dark brown seeds. The seeds are shaped like a flat oval and are about 4.5 to 6.5 millimeters long.
Where Does the Senna Wattle Grow?
The Acacia praemorsa is a plant that is endemic to a very small area. This means it only grows naturally in one specific place. That place is the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.
You can find it on lower hillsides and in steep, narrow valleys. It prefers to grow in loamy soils, which are a mix of sand, silt, and clay. It lives as part of thick, open heathland or tall, open shrubland plant communities.
There are only a few small groups of these plants left. They are found in the ranges northeast of a town called Cleve. The total area where they grow is only about 31 square kilometers (12 square miles). There are seven known groups of these plants, and four of them have between 500 and 1000 individual plants.
