The Phantom Wattle (family Fabaceae) is a small to medium-sized, open and normally erect shrub growing to 1–4 m in height. The stems are silvery-grey, the branches are slender and have scattered, appressed, short, straight, and silvery hairs. The phyllodes are alternate, entire, sessile, flat, often curved, narrowly linear, 5–11 cm long and 1–2 mm wide, with a distinct midvein. The surface is generally smooth although there are minute papillae on the margins and midrib. Flowers are light golden yellow and arranged in heads, with two per axil, obloid to globular, 0.5–1 cm long and sessile, the rachis densely hairy. The seed pods are up to 9 cm long and 3–5 mm wide, thinly coriaceous, curved to sigmoid, longitudinally veined, with scattered, appressed white hairs when young but hairless at maturity. The Phantom Wattle may be confused with Acacia quadrilateralis and possibly A. genistifolia (Spreading Wattle), both of which have pedunculate flower heads, but is distinguished by the combination of very narrow phyllodes more than 4 cm long and the obloid to globular inflorescence
Phantom Wattle |
Acacia phasmoides
Status: Vulnerable on the EPBC Act list
Government evidence of impact of climate change:
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Australian Government, Conservation Advice, Acacia phasmoides
Threats The major threats to Phantom Wattle are climate change driven fires and droughts; herbivory from feral herbivores particularly during the post fire recovery stage and the genetic consequences of small subpopulations (Table 1).
Table 1 Threats impacting Phantom Wattle Threat Status and severity a Evidence Climate Change Increased frequency and Timing current The CSIRO Bureau of Meteorology severity of bushfires Confidence known (2015) predict eastern Australia will experience increased frequency and Consequence major severity of bushfires.
Extent across the entire range Given its apparent preference for seasonally damp situations; climate change may pose a substantial threat to the Phantom Wattle; through increased drying of habitat.
Identify current and future habitat likely to remain or become suitable habitat due to climate change.
Phantom Wattle is threatened by several fire related threats; including high frequency fire; fire drought interactions and fire promoted weed invasion.
The major threat from increased fire frequency and severity is likely to be the cumulative impacts of multiple fires occurring at short intervals; which could kill recovering adult and immature plants and deplete the soil seed bank (Palmer 2016).
Furthermore; high frequency fires interact with other threats; namely drought and competition with weeds which further compound the impact of fire on Phantom Wattle.
Furthermore; Phantom Wattle; like other resprouting shrubs; may be subject to threat from fire drought interactions.
Resprouting stems are vulnerable to embolization and drastically lowered xylem hydraulic conductivity during post fire drought; increasing individual mortality risk (Pratt et al. 2014).
Introduced grasses have the potential to invade native vegetation and may threaten Phantom Wattle by outcompeting the plants directly; particularly after fire which may create gaps for superior competitors; or by indirectly altering fuel loads and fire regimes (D’Antonio Vitousek 1992 NSW Scientific Committee 2003 DPIE 2020).
Take the likelihood of increasingly frequent bushfires into account when developing planned burning programs; to avoid excessively frequent burning of any subpopulations.
Phantom Wattle is threatened by several fire related threats; including high frequency fire; fire drought interactions and fire promoted weed invasion.
Furthermore; high frequency fires interact with other threats; namely drought and competition with weeds which further compound the impact of fire on Phantom Wattle.
Furthermore; Phantom Wattle; like other resprouting shrubs; may be subject to threat from fire drought interactions.
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