Acacia infecunda
Molyneux & ForresterShrub 0.3–0.6(–1.2) m high, root-suckering, stems erect; branchlets glabrous. Phyllodes linear, 1.2–4.1 cm long, 0.8–2.2 mm wide, glabrous, grey-green, obliquely and eccentrically mucronate; midrib usually indistinct, lateral veins indistinct; gland small, not prominent. Racemes with rachis (0.3–)1–3(–4) cm long, glabrous; peduncles 1.5–4 mm long, glabrous; heads prolific, globular, 5–9-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united. Pods not seen. Flowers Aug.–Oct.
HNF, VAlp. Known from a single population growing on high rocky ground in the upper catchment of Little River near Wulgulmerang.
Acacia infecunda is apparently sterile, known only to reproduce asexually via root suckers. It co-occurs with A. nanopravissima (previously regarded to be a dwarf variant of A. pravissima) and A. tabula (previously regarded to be a dwarf variant of A. buxifolia). All three species are restricted to the same location and are apparently sterile.
This species was previously regarded to be a dwarf form of A. boormanii. Recent morphometric analysis of these two taxa by Tucker et al. (2018) suggests that they cannot be distinguished by phyllode or floral characters. Suckering habit and inability to set seed appear to be the only features that separate A. infecunda, and further study may be required to determine if this should be recognised at specific rank.
Tucker, K.J.; Walsh, N.G.; Murphy D.J. (2018). Examining the Acacia boormanii complex (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae); classification of a new subspecies. Muelleria 27: 23–32.
