Veined Wait-a-while
Structure
Murray Mallee Region
Hakea Wattle
Bush in Flower
 
                      
Veined Wait-a-while (Acacia colletioides)Class: Plants (Plantae) - Land Plants (Charophyta) - Land Plants (Equisetopsida) - Shrubs & Bushes
Order: Legumes (Fabales)
Family: Legume (Fabaceae or Leguminosae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Veined Wait-a-while (Acacia colletioides)
This Photo:     🔍Leaf🔎

Thank you Tony and Jenny Dominelli for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found in the Murray Mallee SA, Riverland and possibly elsewhere
The leaves (phyllodes) have 8 parallel veins (nerves).
Sorry about the yellow colour of the close ups, they were taken in drought, not a diagnostic of the species.
While they are classed as Least Concern we've only ever seen them once. They are nearly impossible to separate from Spinebush from a distance, so you need to take a close look at the phyllodes of everyone you see. We've done this with all our Spinebushes on Ellura and not a colletioides to be found.
The name comes from a local legend that if you ever fell into one you'll have to wait-a-while for someone else to pull you out. They are so prickly that trying to push yourself off the bush would be extremely painful!

Similar Species: Spine Bush (Acacia nyssophylla)

Copyright © 2019-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 15-Oct-2019
This species is classed as LC (Least Concern) in the Murray Mallee, SA, by DENR (Regional Species Status Assessments, July 2010)