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Acacia ascendens

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Acacia ascendens

Priority Two — 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. ascendens
Binomial name
Acacia ascendens
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms[1]

Racosperma ascendens (Maslin) Pedley

Acacia ascendens is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to inland areas of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with inclined to erect phyllodes that are round in cross-section, spherical heads of golden yellow flowers, and narrowly oblong pods up to 70 mm (2.8 in) long.

Description

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Acacia ascendens is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of 1.5–3 m (4 ft 11 in – 9 ft 10 in) and has smooth, mid-grey bark. New growth is resinous and slightly sticky. The phyllodes are inclined or erect, cylindrical in cross section, 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) long about 1 mm (0.039 in) wide, with four veins and often with a hooked end. The flowers are arranged in one or two racemes in axils or on the ends of branches with one or two heads on a peduncle 5–14 mm (0.20–0.55 in) long. Each head is spherical with 20 to 25 resinous, golden yellow flowers. Flowering occurs from June to September and the fruit is a narrowly oblong pod, up to 70 mm (2.8 in) long and about 5 mm (0.20 in) wide containing oblong to elliptic seeds with a club-shaped aril.[2][3][4][5]

Taxonomy

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Acacia ascendens was first formally described in 1990 by the botanist Bruce Maslin in the journal Nuytsia from specimens he collected in Chiddarcooping Nature Reserve, about 70 km (43 mi) north east of Merredin in 1989.[5][6] The specific epithet (ascendens) means 'ascending',[7] and refers to the characteristic orientation of the phyllodes.[5]

Distribution and habitat

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This species of Acacia grows in woodland or low scrub on the scree slopes of breakaways and is only known from the Chiddarcooping Nature Reserve.[2]

Conservation status

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Acacia ascendens is listed as "Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions,[2] meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Acacia ascendens". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Acacia ascendens". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. ^ "Acacia ascendens". Wattle - Acacias of Australia. Lucid Central. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  4. ^ Maslin, Bruce R. Kodela, Phillip G.; Orchard, Anthony E. (eds.). "Acacia ascendens". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Maslin, Bruce R. (1990). "Acacia Miscellany 4. Three new Western Australian species with affinities to A. wilhelmiana (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae: Section Plurinerves) from Western Australia". Nuytsia. 7 (2): 223–225. doi:10.58828/nuy00165. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  6. ^ "Acacia ascendens". APNI. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  7. ^ George, Alex; Sharr, Francis (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 138. ISBN 9780958034180.
  8. ^ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Retrieved 1 December 2024.