Acacia maitlandii

The shrub has an open and spindly habit, with a height of 0.7 to 3.0 metres (2 to 10 ft).[2] The resinous and glabrous branchlets are generally terete in form. The glabrous phyllodes are straight with a narrowly elliptic shape and are 0.8 to 2.5 centimetres (0.31 to 0.98 in) in length and 1 to 3 millimetres (0.039 to 0.118 in) wide.[3] Flowers are yellow and occur sometime between May and October.[2] The simple inflorescences occur singly in the axil of the phyllodes. The globose flower heads with a diameter of 4 to 5 mm (0.157 to 0.197 in) and contain 35 to 60 bright yellow flowers. Following flowering smooth papery seed pods form. The pods are straight and slightly constricted between seeds with a length of 4 to 5 cm (1.57 to 1.97 in) and 3 to 4 mm (0.118 to 0.157 in) wide.[3]

The species was first described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1862 as part of the work Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae.[4] The plant is named for an early European explorer of Australia's Northwest, Maitland Brown, who collected the type specimen.[3] It was later reclassified as Racosperma maitlandii by Leslie Pedley in 1986 but transferred back into the genus Acacia in 2001.[5]

Acacia maitlandii is found in all mainland states of Australia, except Victoria,[3] and is not considered to be threatened with extinction.[2] The favoured soil type is red sand, or stony ground; the habitat is sandy or stony plains, and on hills.[2]

The species is used to make boomerangs and spearthrowers, and the gum produced is edible. The tree is called Garrga in the languages of the Yindjibarndi and Ngarluma people.[6] The seeds have been identified, analysed, and monitored, as a 'wild harvested Australian indigenous food', by Food Standards Australia New Zealand. The product is found to very high in fats, over half by weight.[7]

• List of Acacia species

Data related to Acacia maitlandii at Wikispecies