Botanical art
Common names
Graceful Wattle
Etymology
Acacia from the Greek 'akakia' and derived from 'ake' or 'akis' meaning a sharp point or thorn and 'akazo' meaning to sharpen. Dioscorides, the Greek physician and botanist used the word in the 1st century AD for the Egyptian thorn tree, Acacia arabica. Gracilifolia from the Latin gracilis' meaning graceful, slender and 'folium' meaning a leaf.
Distribution and status
Endemic to South Australia and restricted to the southern Flinders Ranges and northern Mount Lofty Ranges, growing on rocky hillsides and in gorges in open woodland scrub on shallow compact loam soil. Native. Rare in South Australia.
Herbarium regions: Flinders Ranges, Northern Lofty
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Slender, glabrous, resinous shrubs to 2 m high and wide, with a short slender trunk, dividing into a few ascending branches and branchlets, angular with reddish-brown, resinous ridges. Leaves filiform, to 10 cm long and 1 mm diameter, straight or curved, somewhat compressed, viscid, deeply grooved on either face with 4-6 rather obscure resinous veins; apex with a small oblique mucro. 1-4 small glands are situated along the upper margins of the leaves. Inflorescences simple, 1-3 per axil with short, cylindrical to almost globular, bright yellow flower-heads. Flowering between August and November. Fruits are linear pod to 7 cm long and 2 mm wide, viscid, raised over seeds, margins slightly constricted, tapering and acute at both ends. Seeds are hard, dark brown to black ellipsoid seed to 6 mm long and 4 mm wide. Seed embryo type is investing.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between October and January. Collect mature pods that are turning brown, with hard, dark seeds inside. Place the pods in a tray and leave to dry for 1-2 weeks or until the pods begin to split. Then rub the dried pods to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate any unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From one collection, the seed viability was high, at 85%. This species has physical dormancy that needs to be overcome for the seed to germinate (e.g. nicking or softening the seed coat).
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA MSB | 19,000 (380.45 g) 19,000 (380.45 g) | 60+ | 1-Nov-2006 | DJD642 Northern Lofty | 1-Aug-2007 | 85% | -18°C |
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.