Curly-Bark Wattle - profile

Scientific name: Acacia curranii
Conservation status in NSW: Vulnerable
National conservation status: Vulnerable

Description

The Curly-Bark Wattle is a broombush-like shrub to 4 m tall, with long, wispy branchlets and a very characteristic, reddish-brown, curling fibrous bark. Plants are silky-downy all over, except for the old wood. The phyllodes (wattle leaves) are cylindrical and linear, 13 - 18 cm long and 1 - 1.5 mm wide, with a silvery covering of silky hairs. The flower-heads are spherical to slightly cylindrical, golden-yellow in colour, on stalks 1 - 2 mm long. The pods are straight, 4 - 6 cm long, 3 - 4 mm wide, and covered with a mat of short, white hairs.

Location and habitat

Distribution
Known from near Cobar south to Hillston area. Also in Gundabooka National Park near Bourke and Nombinnie Nature Reserve. There are about 20 populations with fewer than 5000 individuals. Also known in Qld from two populations totalling several hundred individuals near Gurulmundi.

Habitat and ecology

Grows in Acacia shrubland and mallee. Prefers acidic, skeletal soils in rocky habitats and occupies specialised habitats comprising rocky ridges and deeply weathered sandstone.
Associated species in NSW populations include Eucalyptus dwyeri, E. populneus subsp. bimbil, E. intertexta, E. microcarpa, E. morrisii, Callitris glaucophylla, Acacia doratoxylon, A. havilandiorum, A. aneura and Eremophila spp.
Flowers from August to September; no seedlings have been recorded from any site and attempts to germinate seeds after pre-sowing treatment have been largely unsuccessful.
Regenerates from root suckers after fire, with fire disturbance also said to contribute to seedling establishment.
Forms open to closed shrublands (sometimes with scattered emergent trees), with plants locally frequent to dominant in populations. Queensland populations are described as grove-forming and growing in dense pure stands.
Populations with about 2500 plants over approximately 5 hectares have been recorded, as well as less than 10 plants within Nombinnie Nature Reserve; populations near Lake Cargelligo range from one to several thousand individuals; several hundred plants occur in the two patches at Gurulmundi.

Regional information
This species is found in the following catchment management authority regions. Click on a region name to see more details about the distribution, vegetation types and habitat preference of the species in that region.

Threats

Feral goats; grazing, browsing and horning of adult plants and seedlings, habitat erosion; feral goats occur in all known NSW sites.
Clearing during fire trail widening.
Quarrying; two sites at Shepherds Hill and Gurulmundi are directly threatened by quarrying operations.
Insect seed predation; a large proportion of seeds may be non-viable, due to insect damage.
Fire; lack of suitable disturbance for seedling establishment.
Other grazing; stock, rabbits and kangaroos.

Recovery strategies

Priority actions are the specific, practical things that must be done to recover a threatened species, population or ecological community. The Department of Environment and Conservation has identified 16 priority actions to help recover the Curly-Bark Wattle in New South Wales.

What needs to be done to recover this species?

Protect from feral goats.
Construct fences and informative signage at sites threatened by quarrying activities.
Protect from all grazing animals.
Do not permit further clearing of potential habitat.
Prevent further loss of extant populations.
Conduct ecological research into specific germination and disturbance requirements and limitations.
Conduct ecological research into specific fire and disturbance requirements.
Baseline surveys are required to confirm known populations and to locate new ones.

References

Ayers, D., Nash, S. and Baggett, K. (1996) Threatened Species of Western New South Wales. NSW NPWS, Sydney.
Bowen, P.F. and Pressey, R.L. (1993) Localities and habitats of plants with restricted distributions in the Western Division of New South Wales. Occasional Paper No. 17. NSW NPWS, Sydney.
Briggs J.D. and Leigh J.H. (1996) Rare or Threatened Australian Plants. CSIRO Publishing, Australia.
Conn, B.J. (1992). Lamiaceae. Pp 623-664. In: Harden, G.J. (ed) Flora of New South Wales Volume 3. New South Wales University Press, Kensington.
Cunningham, G.M., Mulham, W.E., Milthorpe, P.L. and Leigh, J.H. (1992) Plants of Western New South Wales. Inkata Press, Sydney.
Hall, N. and Johnson, L.A.S. (1993) The names of acacias of New South Wales - with a guide to pronunciation of botanical names. Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.
Maiden, J.H. (1916) Notes on Acacia, (with description of new species), No. 1. Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 49: 463-513, pp. 470-471.
Maslin, B.R. and Pedley, L. (1982) The distribution of Acacia (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae) in Australia. Part 1. Species distribution maps. Western Australian Herbarium Research Notes 6: 1-128.
Morrison, D.A. and Davies, S.J. (1991) Acacia. In Harden, G.J. (ed.) Flora of New South Wales. Volume 2. New South Wales University Press, Sydney).
Pedley, L. (1962) Notes on Acacia chiefly from Queensland, I. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 74(6): 53-59.
Pedley, L. (1978) A revision of Acacia Mill. in Queensland. Austrobaileya 1(2): 75-234, p.126.
Pickard, J. (1995a) Acacia curranii Maiden (Curly Bark Wattle). Recovery Plan. Australian Nature Conservation Agency Endangered Species Program. Project No. 248 Australian Nature Conservation Agency.
Pickard, J. (1995b) Acacia curranii Maiden (Curly Bark Wattle). Conservation Research Statement. Australian Nature Conservation Agency Endangered Species Program. Project No. 248 Australian Nature Conservation Agency.
Pickard, J. (1995c) Acacia curranii Maiden (Curly Bark Wattle). Research Plan. Australian Nature Conservation Agency Endangered Species Program. Project No. 248 Australian Nature Conservation Agency.
Pressey, R.L., Cohn, J.S. and Porter, J.L. (1990) Vascular plants with restricted distributions in the Western Division of New South Wales. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 112: 213-227.
Tindale, M.D. (1975) Notes on Australian taxa of Acacia No. 4. Telopea 1(1): 68-83.