Yetman Wattle - profile

Scientific name: Acacia jucunda 
 Conservation status in NSW: Endangered

Description

This upright or spreading shrub is 2.5 - 8 m tall, and has smooth or finely fissured grey bark. The leaves are dull blue-green with prominent lateral veins and are 4 - 6.5 cm long and 5 - 20 mm wide, with a pointed tip and one gland near the base. The golden yellow flowers are clustered into ball-shaped heads with 10 to 20 heads on each flower stalk. Pods are straight and flat, 50-90mm long, 7-10 mm wide and brownish to purple in colour.

Location and habitat

Distribution
 Yetman Wattle is found in the Yetman district near the Queensland border on the North West Slopes of NSW. It also occurs in Queensland.

• Acacia jucunda abundance in populations has been recorded as locally occasional, locally common and frequent, with one population noted as being about one acre in extent.
• Mainly restricted to dry eucalypt woodland communities on sandy to sandy-loam soils. In Queensland, the species is found in dry ranges on loams or clay-loams in eucalypt communities.
• Associated species at the NSW sites include Acacia polybotrya and Callitris endlicheri.
• Known to reproduce by free-suckering.
• Flowers from July to September and fruits two to three months later. Dry seasons may prevent Acacia jucunda from forming fruit and seed.

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.

• Border Rivers/Gwydir

Threats

• The species occurs in production forest and logging must be considered a potential threat.
• Suppression of fire in the woodland habitat may limit regeneration.
• Clearing and fragmentation of dry woodland and forest habitat for agriculture and development.

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 8 priority actions to help recover the Yetman Wattle in New South Wales.

What needs to be done to recover this species?

• Support local Landcare groups.
• Manage fire to promote regeneration of Yetman Wattle.
• Protect dry forest and woodland areas from clearing and development.
• Expand and reconnect isolated areas of habitat.
• Notify the DEC of any new records of Yetman Wattle.

References

• BRI Herbarium Records. Databased specimen records from the Queensland Herbarium (Brisbane Botanic Gardens: Toowong).
• Briggs, J.D. and Leigh, J.H. (1996) Rare or Threatened Australian Plants. Revised Edition (CSIRO: Melbourne).
• Chapman, A.D. (1991) Australian Plant Name Index. Australian Flora and Fauna Series. Numbers 12-15 (Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra).
• 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. and Blakely, W.F. (1927) New Queensland Acacias. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 38(11): 115-122.
• 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).
• NSW Herbarium Records. Databased specimen records from the National Herbarium of New South Wales (Royal Botanic Gardens: Sydney).
• Pedley, L. (1978) A revision of Acacia Mill. in Queensland. Austrobaileya 1(2): 75-234, pp. 278-279.
• Pedley, L. (1987) Acacias in Queensland (Queensland Department of Primary Industries: Brisbane).
• Simmons, M.H. (1981) Acacias of Australia (Nelson: Melbourne).
• Tame, T. Hunter Region Botanic Gardens, Heatherbrae, NSW, 2324.