316 
No. 261. 
Acacia sentis F.v.M. 
(Family LEGUMINOS^E : MIMOS^E.) 
Botanical description. Genus Acacia. See Part XV, p. 103. 
Botanical description. Species sentis F.v.M., in Proc. Linn. Soc., iii, 128 (1859). 
Mueller recognised it as a distinct species, but Bentham, who edited his paper 
for the press, placed it under A. decora Reichb. 
Then Mueller more fully described it in his " Plants Indigenous in the Colony 
of Victoria," a regrettably rare work, p. 18, as follows. He rightly adhered to the 
opinion that it and A. decora are distinct. 
Shrubby or arborescent, branchlets slightly seldom densely downy, sometimes smooth, soon terete ; 
stipules conspicuous, subulate-acicular or obliterated ; phyllodia oblique linear- or lanceolate-oblong or linear, 
one-nerved, pale- or grey-green, opaque, subsessile, slightly curved, finely or indistinctly veined, nearly or 
entirely glabrous, minutely recurved-apiculate ; their marginal gland close to or not very distant from the 
base or obliterated; capitula on rather long, sknder, slightly downy peduncles, axillary, solitary or frequently 
paired or by absence or fall of phyllodia forming tennianl racemes; bracteoles short, spatular ; sepals free, 
narrow-linear, dilated and bearded towards the summit, nearly half as long as the five-cleft corolla ; pods 
chartaceous, broad, flat, oblong, bivalved, inside continuous, often repand at the sutures; funicle stout, 
with exception of the plicate summit straight; seeds placed transversely, very turgid, variegated, ovate- 
globose or broad-ovate, with small lateral, oval, or circular areoles, much longer than the somewhat 
cymbiform brown basal strophiole. [The italics are Mueller's J.H.M.] 
On low sand-hills or arid salt-bush plains towards the junction of the Rivers Murray and Darling. 
Extends over the whole of Central Australia and the arid depressed interior of tropical Australia, reaching 
to near the north coast on the Plains of Promise and in the interior of Arnhem's Land ; in South Australia 
on the base of the Flinders Ranges and on Spencer's Gulf and in the far interior. 
A rich-flowering shrub, advancing to the size of a small tree. Stem-bark blackish. Branches 
mostly divaricate and generally grey-green, thus imparting, together with the usually glaucous foliage, a 
striking colour to this species. Branchlets in age sometimes spinescent. Stipules when developed persistent, 
pungent, 4 lines or less long, or much reduced in size, at their earlier stage almost bright-fulvous. Leaflets 
of the young plant oblique-oval. Phyllodia thinly coriaceous, 1-2 exceptionally 3 inches long, 1-4 lines 
broad, sometimes scantily short-downy, oftener blunt than acute. Peduncles -1 inch long. Capitula 
consisting of twenty to thirty flowers, pale-yellow, rather small. Corolla synpetalous, more or less deeply 
five-lobed. Pods reminding of those of our desert Cassise, pale brown, 1-2 inches long, 7-10 lines broad, 
usually not repand at the sutures. Funicle 2-3 lines long. Strophiole measuring hardly 1 line. Seeds 
about 2 lines long, black- or pale-brown, with grey spots, shining; their areoles elevated. 
This remarkable species is almost transferable to the section Armatae. It exudes gum, and is in 
flower during the greater part of the year. The dromedaries, according to the remarks of the officers of 
Mr. Hewitt's expedition, are extremely fond of browsing on this hatsh stiff, prickly plant. 
