Acacia excelsa

Last updated

Ironwood
Acacia excelsa habit.jpg
Habit
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. excelsa
Binomial name
Acacia excelsa
Acacia excelsaDistMap341.png
Occurrence data from AVH

Acacia excelsa, also known as ironwood, rosewood, bunkerman and doodlallie is a tree of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves that is endemic to inland parts of north-eastern Australia. In the Gamilaraay language it is known as dhan, gayan or gan. [1]

Contents

Description

The shrub or tree typically grows to a height of 3 to 15 m (9.8 to 49.2 ft) [2] can grow to a height of around 20 m (66 ft) and usually has a weeping [3] or erect to spreading habit. [2] It has hard, fissured and deep grey coloured bark and glabrous branchlets. [3] The wood of the tree has a scent similar to cut violets. [4] Like most species of Acacia it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. [4] The glabrous, evergreen phyllodes are straight or slightly curved and have a narrowly elliptic or narrowly oblong shape. The phyllodes are usually 2 to 7 cm (0.79 to 2.76 in) in length but can be as long as 9 cm (3.5 in) and 3 to 22 mm (0.12 to 0.87 in) wide with three to seven prominent longitudinal veins. It blooms between March and June in its natural range producing simple inflorescences that occur in groups of one to four usually in the axils. It has spherical flower-heads are 4 to 8 mm (0.16 to 0.31 in) in diameter and contain 20 to 35 bright yellow flowers. [2] Following flowering it will produce brittle firmly papery seed pods that are flat and straight but are constricted between seeds. The glabrous pods are 4 to 11 cm (1.6 to 4.3 in) in length and 6 to 12 mm (0.24 to 0.47 in) wide finely reticulated veins and often covered in a fine white powdery coating. [2]

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist George Bentham in 1848 as part of Thomas Mitchell's work Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia. It was reclassified as Racosperma excelsum by Leslie Pedley in 1987 then transferred back to genus Acacia in 2006. [1] The specific epithet means tall and is in reference to the tall habit of the tree. [2]

Distribution

It has a wide-ranging but scattered distribution throughout inland parts of southern inland Queensland extending into northern and central New South Wales. [3] In New South Wales it is found as far south as Condbolin and as far east as Warialda. It is found growing in sandy loamy soils as a part of open woodland or savannah grassland communities.

Uses

The bark of this species, like all Acacias, contain appreciable amounts of tannins and are astringent and can be used for medical purposes including for the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery when used internally or used to treat wounds, haemorrhoids or some eye problems when used externally. The trees can also produce gum from the stems which is also taken internally to treat haemorrhoids and diarrhoea. The wood produced by the tree is close-grained, very tough and hard and elastic and is suitable for cabinet-work and instrument fretboards. It was used by Indigenous Australian peoples to make boomerangs and spearthrowers. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Acacia murrayana</i> Species of legume

Acacia murrayana is a tree in the family Fabaceae. It has numerous common names, including sandplain wattle, Murray's wattle, fire wattle, colony wattle and powder bark wattle, and is endemic to arid areas in every mainland state except Victoria.

<i>Acacia melanoxylon</i> Species of legume

Acacia melanoxylon, commonly known as the Australian blackwood, is an Acacia species native to south-eastern Australia. The species is also known as blackwood, hickory, mudgerabah, Tasmanian blackwood, or blackwood acacia. The tree belongs to the Plurinerves section of Acacia and is one of the most wide-ranging tree species in eastern Australia and is quite variable mostly in the size and shape of the phyllodes.

<i>Acacia verticillata</i> Species of legume

Acacia verticillata is a perennial shrub to small tree native to south eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia tumida</i> Species of legume

Acacia tumida, known colloquially as pindan wattle, spear wattle or wongai, is a species of Acacia native to northern and western Australia.

<i>Acacia flavescens</i> Species of legume

Acacia flavescens, also known as the red wattle, yellow wattle or primrose ball wattle, is a tree in the genus Acacia native to eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia leptocarpa</i> Species of legume

Acacia leptocarpa, commonly known as north coast wattle, is a shrub or small tree native to New Guinea and coastal regions of northern Australia.

<i>Acacia hammondii</i> Species of legume

Acacia hammondii, also known as Hammond's wattle, is a tree or shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is native across northern Australia.

<i>Acacia retinervis</i> Species of legume

Acacia retinervis is a tree or shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae endemic to northern western Australia.

<i>Acacia dictyophleba</i> Species of plant

Acacia dictyophleba, also known as the sandhill wattle, waxy wattle, feather veined wattle, and spear tree, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae, found in Australia. The Nyangumarta peoples know the plant as Langkur or Lungkun; the Thalanyji know it as Jabandi; and the Pintupi know it as mulyati.

<i>Acacia juncifolia</i> Species of legume

Acacia juncifolia, commonly known as rush-leaf wattle, is a shrub or tree belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to north eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia siculiformis</i> Species of legume

Acacia siculiformis, commonly known as dagger wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae native to south eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia aprepta</i> Species of legume

Acacia aprepta is a species of Acacia native to eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia bulgaensis</i> Species of legume

Acacia bulgaensis is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is native to eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia cretata</i> Species of legume

Acacia cretata is a shrub or tree belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is native to north eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia doratoxylon</i> Species of plant

Acacia doratoxylon, commonly known as currawang, lancewood, spearwood or coast myall, is a shrub or tree belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is native to eastern and south eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia leptostachya</i> Species of legume

Acacia leptostachya, commonly known as Townsville wattle or slender wattle, is a shrub or small tree belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is native to north eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia meiosperma</i> Species of legume

Acacia meiosperma is a shrub or tree belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is native to north eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia mountfordiae</i> Species of legume

Acacia mountfordiae, commonly known as Mountford's wattle, is a shrub or tree belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is native to north Australia.

<i>Acacia polystachya</i> Species of legume

Acacia polystachya is a tree belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is native to north eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia oraria</i> Species of legume

Acacia oraria, also commonly known as coastal wattle, is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves that is endemic to an area along the northeastern coast of Australia and on the islands of Flores and Timor.

References

  1. 1 2 "Acacia excelsa' Benth. Dhan, Gayan, Gan in Yuwaalayaay". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility . Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Acacia excelsa Benth". PlantNet. Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney . Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Acacia excelsa". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium . Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Ken Fern and Ajna Fern (2014). "Acacia excelsa Benth. Fabaceae". Useful Tropical Plants. Retrieved 2 October 2020.