| White stemmed wattle | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Genus: | Acacia |
| Species: | A. xanthina |
| Binomial name | |
| Acacia xanthina Benth. |
|
Acacia xanthina, commonly known as white stemmed wattle, is a coastal shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae. Endemic to Western Australia, it occurs on coastal limestone between Fremantle and Shark Bay.
White stemmed wattle usually grows as a dense shrub between two and four metres high; it is often much wider than it is tall. Its branches are white or greenish-white, with many bends and twists. Like many other Acacia species, it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. These are bluish-green, from six to eleven centimetres long, and one to two centimetres wide. The flower heads are bright yellow and spherical, and occur in group of six to nine, but sometimes up to fifteen. It flowers in late winter and spring.
Acacia xanthina was first collected in 1839 by James Drummond, and described by George Bentham in 1842. The specific name comes from the Greek xanthos, meaning yellow, and refers to the flowers.