Prickly wattles are prickly, having sharp spines protruding from their branches, giving them their name. These are common in the upper reaches of drainage channels around the Fowlers Gap Station, higher upstream than the belah and river red gum.

Prickly wattles are irregular shrubs 2-5 m tall with glabrous or slightly glaucous branchlets, which may also be downy or slightly hairy. The example in the top 2 images at right is in the best of health and was found at the Living Desert Aboretum near Broken Hill. Examples at Fowlers Gap are often far more sickly and thin. Example in the 3rd image is from Fowlers Gap.

Bark: rough.
Leaves: (phyllodes, actually - it's an Acacia after all) are grey-green, broad-linear, 2-5 cm long and 3-7 mm wide. They area accompanied at their bases by 2 spiny, alternate stipules.
Flowers: mostly in short axillary racemes, are globular, bright light yellow, with 15-30 flowers per head.
Fruit: seedpods are broad and flat, oblong, thin and papery, 4-7.5 cm long and 6-13 mm wide, straight, with large rounded seeds.
Source: Frank Kutsche and Brendan Lay (2003). Field guide to the plants of outback South Australia. Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation, South Australia, ISBN 0 7590 1052 8.
Phillip Moore (2005). A guide to plants of inland Australia. Reed New Holland, ISBN 1 876334 86 X.
Photos: Ian Roach

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