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Acacia megacephala

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Acacia megacephala

Priority Three — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Acacia
Species:
A. megacephala
Binomial name
Acacia megacephala
Occurrence data from AVH

Acacia megacephala is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Pulchellae that is endemic to south western Australia.

Description

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The erect, spindly and spinose shrub typically grows to a height of 0.9 to 2 metres (3 to 7 ft)[1] and has hairy branchlets that usually arch downwards and with axillary spines and linear-triangular shaped stipules with a length of 1.5 to 4 mm (0.059 to 0.157 in) The leaves are composed of one pair of pinnae with a length of 4 to 6 mm (0.16 to 0.24 in) which hold four to six pairs of green-grey and glabrous and smooth pinnules that have a oblanceolate shape with a length of 3 to 6 mm (0.12 to 0.24 in) and a width of 1.5 to 3 mm (0.059 to 0.118 in).[2] It blooms from July to September and produces yellow flowers.[1]

Taxonomy

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The species was first formally described in 1972 by the botanist Bruce Maslin as a part of the work Studies in the genus Acacia as published in the journal Nuytsia. It was reclassified by Leslie Pedley in 2003 as Racosperma megacephalum then returned to genus Acacia in 2006.[3]

Distribution

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It is native to an area in the Mid West regions of Western Australia where it is commonly situated on sandplains growing in sandy or loamy soils.[1] It has a limited range to around Geraldton as a part of in mixed scrub and shrubland communities.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Acacia megacephala". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  2. ^ a b "Acacia megacephala". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Acacia megacephala Maslin". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 11 February 2021.