Acacia celsa

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Brown salwood
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Acacia
Species:
A. celsa
Binomial name
Acacia celsa
Acacia celsaDistMap174.png
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms [2]
  • Acacia aulacocarpa North Qld group p.p.
  • Acacia aulacocarpa subsp. C
  • Acacia sp. (NEQ BH 1344RFK)
  • Acacia sp. (NEQ)
  • Racosperma celsum(Tindale) Pedley

Acacia celsa, commonly known as brown salwood, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to north Queensland, Australia. It is a tree with thinly leathery phyllodes that are straight on one edge and curved on the other, spikes of pale lemon yellow flowers, and leathery pods up to 30 mm (1.2 in) long.

Contents

Description

Acacia celsa is a tree that typically grows to a height of 8 to 30 m (26 to 98 ft) with a greyish-green canopy and single trunk about 80 cm (31 in) in diameter with hard, thin bark. Its branchlets are glabrous and flattened at the ends. Its phyllodes are straight on one edge and curved on the other, 50–155 mm (2.0–6.1 in) long, 15–25 mm (0.59–0.98 in) wide, thinly leathery and more or less dark green to greyish-green with 3 or 4 veins more prominent than the rest. The flowers are pale lemon yellow and borne in cylindrical spikes 30–60 cm (12–24 in) long in 4 to 8 axils on peduncles 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long. Flowering occurs between January and May and the pods are oblong to narrowly oblong, 20–50 mm (0.79–1.97 in) long 15–20 mm (0.59–0.79 in) wide woody and curved to strongly curved, sometimes into an open circle. The seeds are brown to black, more or less egg-shaped, 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) long with a greyish cream aril. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy

Acacia celsa was first formally described in 2000 by Maurice McDonald and Bruce Maslin in Australian Systematic Botany , with credit to Mary Tindale, from specimens collected 2.5 km (1.6 mi) east along the Mission Beach turnoff, in 1996. [5] The specific epithet (celsa) means 'high' or 'lofty', referring to the tall stature of this species. [2]

Distribution and habitat

Brown salwood is endemic to north eastern Queensland where it is common from near Cooktown to the eastern parts of the Atherton Tableland, with a disjunct population in the Paluma Range National Park. It grows in rainforest in coastal plains and on steep mountains, usually around 600 to 900 m (2,000 to 3,000 ft) high, where it is a pioneer or canopy species as part of rainforest communities, and the annual rainfall is between 1,300–1,400 mm (51–55 in). [2] [3]

Conservation status

Acacia celsa is listed as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992 . [6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Acacia celsa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Maslin, Bruce R.; Reid, Jordan E. Kodela, Phillip G. (ed.). "Acacia celsa". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Acacia celsa". WorldWideWattle. Western Australian Herbarium . Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  4. ↑ "Acacia celsa". Wattle - Acacias of Australia. Lucid Central. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  5. ↑ "Acacia celsa". APNI. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  6. ↑ "Taxon Record 21918 - Acacia celsa". Queensland Government WildNet. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
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