Acacia pterocaulon

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Acacia pterocaulon is a small shrub in the Acacia genus, native to a tiny area in the Mid West of Western Australia. It is listed as Priority One — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC).

What it looks like
- Size: typically 0.5–1.3 meters tall, sometimes up to about 2 meters
- Branches: green and smooth with many offshoots
- Leaves: leaf-like structures (phyllodes) run along the branches and form small wings, 2–6 mm wide
- Free leaf part: lance-shaped to narrowly triangular, 1–5.5 cm long, straight or slightly curved
- Flowers: yellow, blooming from October to January
- Flower heads: globular, 10–15 mm across, with about 60–70 tiny golden flowers
- Seeds: pods are long and narrow, up to 12 cm long and 4–5 mm wide; seeds are oblong, about 4.5–5 mm long

Taxonomy notes
- Described by Bruce Maslin in 1995
- Was moved to Racosperma pterocaulon by Leslie Pedley in 2003, then returned to Acacia in 2006
- Type specimen collected near Three Springs in 1976
- Similar to Acacia willdenowiana and closely related to Acacia glaucoptera

Habitat and distribution
- Found only in a small area between Morawa and Three Springs
- Grows on rocky hill slopes in clay-loam or sandy-loam soils
- Common in understorey of Eucalyptus woodlands or in dense Casuarina scrub

Notes
- Occurrence data come from the Australian Virtual Herbarium (AVH)
- The species is considered poorly known and has a limited distribution