Acacia grasbyi
| Acacia grasbyi | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Caesalpinioideae |
| Clade: | Mimosoid clade |
| Genus: | Acacia |
| Species: | A. grasbyi
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| Binomial name | |
| Acacia grasbyi | |
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Racosperma grasbyi (Maiden) Pedley | |
Acacia grasbyi, commonly known as miniritchie,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to parts of arid western and central Australia. It is a flat-topped, resinous shrub or tree with Minni ritchi bark, erect, thickly thread-like phyllodes, spikes of golden yellow flowers and linear, somewhat woody pods slightly constricted between the seeds.
Description
Acacia grasbyi is a multistemmed, flat-topped, resinous shrub or tree that typically grows to a height of 1–6 m (3 ft 3 in – 19 ft 8 in) and 3–5 m (9.8–16.4 ft) wide, sometimes branching low to the ground, with reddish brown, minni ritchi bark. The branchlets are orange, grey or light brown, glabrous or with soft hairs between orange ridges and often pimply. Its phyllodes are more or less erect, thickly thread-like, more or less straight or often curved near the base, terete or subterete, mostly 40–70 mm (1.6–2.8 in) long and 1.0–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) wide with a coarsely sharp tip.[2] The flowers are golden yellow and borne in spikes 8–30 mm (0.31–1.18 in) long. Flowering occurs between March and October and the pods are linear, straight or sickle shaped, 60–110 mm (2.4–4.3 in) long, slightly constricted between the seeds, somewhat woody and covered with tiny soft hairs. The seeds are flattened or round, 6.5–9 mm (0.26–0.35 in) long and brownish black with a yellowish olive aril.[2][3][4][5]
Taxonomy
Acacia grasbyi was first formally described in 1917 by the botanist Joseph Maiden in the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales from specimens he collected near the Cue-Milly Soak road in 1909.[6][7] The specific epithet (grasbyi) honours William Grasby,[7] agricultural editor of the Western Mail, Perth.[8]
Distribution and habitat
Miniritchie occurs throughout the arid interior of Western Australia, especially in the Murchison district, north to the Gibson Desert and south to about 64 km (40 mi) north of Leonora, with isolated populations in the north-west of South Australia and the southern Northern Territory.[3] In Western Australia it grows on plains, granite mesas or undulating hills, in stony red sand or loam in Acacia scrub or shrubland, in the Carnarvon, Gascoyne, Geraldton Sandplains, Great Victoria Desert, Murchison, Swan Coastal Plain, Tanami and Yalgoo bioregions of arid Western Australia.[3][2]
Conservation status
Acacia grasbyi is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Acacia grasbyi". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ a b c d e "Acacia grasbyi". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ a b c Tindale, Mary D.; Kodela, Phillip G. "Acacia grasbyi". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ "Acacia grasbyi". Australian Biological Resources Study. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ "Acacia grasbyi". World Wide Wattle. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ "Acacia grasbyi". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ a b Maiden, Joseph H. (1917). "Notes on Acacia, No. III. — extra-tropical Western Australia (including descriptions of new species)". Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales. 51: 251–254. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ George, Alex S.; Sharr, Francis A. (2023). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings - A Glossary (fifth ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables Press. p. 215. ISBN 9780645629538.