Acacia prismifolia

Declared Rare — Presumed Extinct (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. prismifolia
Binomial name
Acacia prismifolia

Acacia prismifolia is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves that is endemic to a small area of south western Australia. It was once thought to be extinct until a specimen was found in 2018.[1]

Description

The rounded shrub typically grows to a height of 0.15 to 0.5 metres (0.5 to 1.6 ft)[2] and has densely villous branchlets with persistent linear to linear-triangular shaped stipules that are 1 to 1.5 mm (0.039 to 0.059 in) in length. Like most species of Acacia it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. The evergreen and slightly curved phyllodes have a trigonous cross-section and have a length of 5 to 9 mm (0.20 to 0.35 in) and a wisth of 1 to 2 mm (0.039 to 0.079 in) with four nerves where the central nerve is slightly raised. When it blooms it produces simple inflorescences that are found crowded toward the ends of the branchlets and have spherical flower-heads with a diameter of 3 to 4 mm (0.12 to 0.16 in) and contain 9 to 10 yellow coloured flowers.[3]

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist Ernst Georg Pritzel in 1904 as a part of the work by Pritzel and Diels, Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae occidentalis. Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Pflanzen Westaustraliens, ihrer Verbreitung und ihrer Lebensverhaltnisse as published in the journal Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie. It was reclassified by Leslie Pedley in 2003 as Racosperma prismifolium then transferred back to genus Acacia in 2005.[4] It belongs to the Acacia sulcata group of wattles and is thought to be most closely related to Acacia brachyphylla.[3]

Rediscovery

Last specimen was recorded in the 1933, and presumed to have been extinct. In 2018 the plant was collected by Botanist Libby Sandiford near Cranbrook, seeds from A. prismifolia have been collected for protection and propagation by Threatened Flora Seed Centre in Perth.[1]

Distribution

It is native to an area in the Great Southern region of Western Australia where it was found on rocky slopes[2] as a part of dense shrubland communities. The type specimen was collected by Ludwig Diels in 1901 near the Stirling Range.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Stephens, Kate; Honeybone, Ellie (13 December 2018). "No cute furry animals: Why 'forgotten' conservation work matters too". ABC News.
  2. 1 2 "Acacia prismifolia". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. 1 2 3 "Acacia prismifolia". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "Acacia prismifolia E.Pritz". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.