Thin-leaf wattle facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Thin-leaf wattle
Scientific classification
Genus:	Acacia
Species:	aculeatissima
Occurrence data from AVH

Acacia aculeatissima, commonly known as thin-leaf wattle or snake wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is native to parts of eastern Australia.

Description

The shrub has an erect to decumbent habit and typically grows to a height of 0.3 to 1 m (1 ft 0 in to 3 ft 3 in) and has ribbed stems that are covered in stiff short hairs. The phyllodes are fine and prickly with a length of 5 to 12 mm (0.20 to 0.47 in) and a width of 0.5 to 1 mm (0.020 to 0.039 in) and have four veins that are usually bent downwards. It blooms between August and November and produces inflorescences with pale yellow flowers. Each inflorescence occurs a one to three spherical flowers on individual stalks found in the leaf axils. After flowering narrow seed pods form that are straight or shallowly curved to with a length of around 6 cm (2.4 in).

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist James Francis Macbride in 1919 in the article Notes on certain Leguminosae s published in the Contributions of the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University. The only synonyms are Acacia tenuifolia and Racosperma aculeatissimum.

Distribution

It is found in south western New South Wales where it is considered rare and Victoria where it is more common. It is often a part of Eucalypt forest communities and grows in sandy loamy clay soils over sedimentary substrate.