[Pkoc. Rot. Soc. Victoria, 28 (N.S.), Part II., 1916]. 



■7 



Art. XVII.— Notes on a Neiv Acacia from, Victoria River, 

 Northern Territory. 



By E. J. DUNN, F.G.S. 



[With Plates XXIV. and XXV.]. 



(Read November 11th, HU5). 



In the latter part of May, 191.'J, on a visit to Blunder Bay, about 

 10 miles up the Victoria lliver from its mouth, and in a gully called 

 Gouty Gum Gully (Lat, 15° H' S., Long. 129* 39' E.), about H 

 miles from the anchorage I found an acacia remarkable for its 

 beautiful foliage. The stems, of which three or four grow out of a 

 woody knob, are round, less than one inch thick at their basw, and 

 grow to a height of 12 or 14 feet. They are quite white. The 

 phyllodes, commonly known as leaves, hang vertically on the stem. 

 are leathery, strongly veined, lobe-shaped and of olive green colour, 

 with a bloom on tliem that gives them a silvery sheen in the sun- 

 shine. At the top of each shoot there is a spray 12 to 18 inches 

 long, of light yellow acacia blossom. The flowers are spherical, large 

 and sparsely arranged. They appear in May, and the seed pods 

 mature in June, and are probably dry in the month of July. 



At the base of the stem, the phyllodes attain to 17 inches or more 

 in length, and they gradually become smaller as they ascend the 

 stem. It is a superb foliage plant, and ranks among the most beau- 

 tiful of all the acacias. 



The first plant observed was found growing in poor sandy soil, 

 <>n the side of a small watercourse; but their proper habitat is on 

 the quartzite ridges that rise to a height of about 150 feet above sea 

 level. 1 mile S. from the anchorage. Here these plants grow without 

 soil in intensely hard bare quartzite rock, as shown in the photo- 

 graph, the roots penetrating the cracks and fissures of the rock. 

 Very tew seed pods form, only one or two were noticed on any of 

 i he sprays, and on some there was not a single pod. 



The photograph of the plant and the writer was taken by Mr. 

 R. J. Winters. Geologist, of the Northern Territory Geological 

 Survey, ami kindly presented to me. 



On my return to Melbourne, dried specimens of the phyllodes, 

 flowers and pods were submitted to Mr. Maiden. F.L.S., Govern- 



