| Acacia castorum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Caesalpinioideae |
| Clade: | Mimosoid clade |
| Genus: | Acacia |
| Species: | A. castorum |
| Binomial name | |
| Acacia castorum | |
Acacia castorum, commonly known asPeak Range wattle,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the familyFabaceae and isendemic to theGemini Mountains in central-easternQueensland, Australia. It is a shrub with narrowly egg-shapedphyllodes with the narrower end towards the base, spherical heads of 20 to 25 flowers, and leatherypods up to 30 mm (1.2 in) long.
Acacia castorum is a shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 3 m (9.8 ft) and has few branchlets that are covered with hairs pressed against the surface. Its phyllodes are narrowly egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 5–9 mm (0.20–0.35 in) long, 1.5–2.4 mm (0.059–0.094 in) wide with a small point near the end, and narrowly triangularstipules 0.4–1 mm (0.016–0.039 in) long at the base. The flowers are borne in axils in spherical heads on apeduncle 10–12 mm (0.39–0.47 in) long, each head with 20 to 25 flowers. The pods are leathery, up to about 30 mm (1.2 in) long and 8 mm (0.31 in) wide with a powdery white bloom containing up to 8 shiny black seeds 4.3–5.0 mm (0.17–0.20 in) long and 3.0–3.3 mm (0.12–0.13 in) wide with a club-shapedaril.[2][3]
Acacia castorum was first formally described in 2019 byLeslie Pedley in the journalAustrobaileya from specimens collected on Mount Castor in thePeak Range National Park in 2001.[3][4] Thespecific epithet (castorum) alludes to the half twinsCastor and Pollux, or the mountains named after them.[3]
This species of wattle is only known from Gemini Mountains in the Peak Range National Park in central-eastern Queensland, where it grows on cliff lines and steep slopes oftrachyte in open woodland.[2][3]
Acacia castorum is listed as "vulnerable" under the Queensland GovernmentNature Conservation Act 1992.[5]