Acacia chisholmii

Turpentine bush
About 32km east of Mount Isa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Caesalpinioideae
Clade:	Mimosoid clade
Genus:	Acacia
Species:	A. chisholmii
Binomial name
Acacia chisholmii F.M.Bailey [1]
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms [1]
Acacia costinervisDomin Racosperma chisholmii(F.M.Bailey) Pedley

Seed pods

Habit

Acacia chisholmii, commonly known as turpentine bush or Chisholm's wattle, ^[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to arid areas of north-eastern Australia. It is a shrub with many spreading stems, erect, linear phyllodes, spikes of golden yellow flowers and linear, curved, leathery pods.

Description

Acacia chisholmii is a multi-stemmed, spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 4 m (13 ft) and has minni ritchi bark. Its branchlets are angular, purplish brown or red-brown with small teeth on the edges. the phyllodes are erect, linear, flat 15–55 mm (0.59–2.17 in) long, 0.7–2 mm (0.028–0.079 in) and thinly leathery with a sharply pointed end and two prominent veins. The flowers are golden yellow and borne in spikes 13–28 mm (0.51–1.10 in) long. Flowering occurs between March and August and the pods are linear, more or less flat but curved, more or less constricted between the seeds, 25–140 mm (0.98–5.51 in) long and leathery. The seeds are dark brown to black, narrowly oblong and 3.6–4.5 mm (0.14–0.18 in) long. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

This species is related to Acacia lysiphloia and Acacia trachycarpa , Acacia effusa and Acacia gracillima . It is also able to hybridize with Acacia monticola . ^[3]

Taxonomy

Acacia chisholmii was first formally described in 1899 by Frederick Manson Bailey in the Queensland Agricultural Journal from specimens collected by W.R. Chisholm near Prairie. ^{[5] [6]} The specific epithet (chisholmii) is presumably named in honour of the collector of the type specimens. ^[2]

Distribution and habitat

Turpentine bush occurs in western parts of Queensland and westwards to the Mount Isa–Cloncurry area where it on stony often lateritic plains with shallow, sandy soils or in undulating country and on escarpments in grassland or Eucalypt woodland and spinifex communities. A single collection has been made near Lake Nash in the Northern Territory. ^[3]

Conservation status

Acacia chisholmii is listed as "near threatened" under the Northern Territory Government Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act , ^[7] but as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992 . ^[8]

See also

• List of Acacia species

References

1. "Acacia chisholmii". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
2. Tindale, Mary D.; Kodela, Phillip G. Kodela, Phillip G. (ed.). "Acacia chisholmii". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
3. "Acacia chisholmii". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium . Retrieved 17 January 2019.
4. "Acacia chisholmii". Wattle - Acacias of Australia. Lucid Central. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
5. "Acacia chisholmii". APNI. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
6. Bailey, Frederick Manson (1899). "Botany. Contributions to the Flora of Queensland". Queensland Agricultural Journal. 4 (1): 47. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
7. "Acacia chisholmii". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
8. "Taxon - Acacia chisholmii". Queensland Government WildNet. Retrieved 26 June 2025.