Minniritchie

Acacia cyperophylla, commonly known as creekline miniritchie or red mulga, is a tree in the family Fabaceae. Endemic to Western Australia, it on the banks of rivers and creeks on the semi-arid plains east of Carnarvon.

Creekline miniritchie grows to a height of about seven metres. It usually has just one or two main trunks. Like most Acacia species, it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. These are rigid, round in cross-section with a diameter of about two millimetres, between ten and fifteen centimetres long, and curved. The flowers are yellow, and held in cylindrical clusters about two centimetres long. The pods are broad and flat, about eight centimetres long and seven millimetres wide.

Creekline miniritchie is most readily identified by its distinctive "minni ritchi" bark, which constantly peels off in small curling flakes, making the tree look like it has a coat of curly hair. On creekline miniritchie, this is an orange-brown colour.

There are two varieties, A. c. var. cyperophylla and A. c. var. omearana. The latter variety is known from only a few populations near Port Hedland, all of which are under threat. It has been classified "Priority 1" under the Western Australian Wildlife Conservation Act, and is under consideration for declaration as "rare flora".

Acacia ( /əˈkeɪʃə/ or /əˈkeɪsiə/) is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not. They are pod-bearing, with sap and leaves typically bearing large amounts of tannins and condensed tannins that historically in many species found use as pharmaceuticals and preservatives.

The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species. The largest genera are Astragalus (over 2,400 species), Acacia (over 950 species), Indigofera (around 700 species), Crotalaria (around 700 species), and Mimosa (around 500 species).

Plants of this family are found throughout the world, growing in many different environments and climates. A number are important agricultural plants, including: Glycine max (soybean), Phaseolus (beans), Pisum sativum (pea), Cicer arietinum (chickpeas), Medicago sativa (alfalfa), Arachis hypogaea (peanut), Ceratonia siliqua (carob), and Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice), which are among the best known members of Fabaceae.

A number of species are also weedy pests in different parts of the world, including: Cytisus scoparius (broom), Ulex europaeus (gorse), Pueraria lobata (kudzu), and a number of Lupinus species.