Acacia shirleyi

Acacia shirleyi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Eudicots
Clade:Rosids
Order:Fabales
Family:Fabaceae
Clade:Mimosoideae
Genus:Acacia
Species: A. shirleyi
Binomial name
Acacia shirleyi
Synonyms

Racosperma shirleyi (Maiden) Pedley

A. shirleyi woodland
A. shirleyi habit

Acacia shirleyi, known colloquially as lancewood,[2][3] is a species of Acacia native to Queensland and the Northern Territory.[1]

Description

The small tree has a single stem[4] which is layered with dead bark[5] and an umbrella shaped habit. It typically grows to a height of around 15 metres (49 ft). The stringy bark is dark grey to black in colour,[4] and the trunk can be up to 60 cm thick.[6] If cut the stem will emit an odour reminiscent of violets.[5] The evergreen linear to slightly curved phyllodes are around 10 to 15 centimetres (4 to 6 in) in length and 0.2 to 0.7 cm (0.079 to 0.276 in) wide. Veins are only found in the midrib area and is raised on both surfaces of the blade.[5] The foliage has a blue-grey hue overall.[7]

It flowers between about March and July[4] produces moderately dense flower-spikes that are 2 to 3.5 cm (0.8 to 1.4 in) in length with small lemon yellow flowers. Following flowering linear woody brown seed pods are formed that are raised over the seeds and constricted between. The pods have a length of around 12 cm (5 in) and a width of 0.45 cm (0.18 in).[5] The black seeds within have a broadly elliptic shape and are 4 to 5.5 millimetres (0.157 to 0.217 in) in length.[4]

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist Joseph Maiden in 1920 as part of the work Notes on Acacias, No. IV, with descriptions of new species as published in the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales. It was reclassified in 1987 by Leslie Pedley as Racosperma shirleyi then transferred back to the Acacia genus in 2001.[8]

A. shirleyi is most closely related to Acacia distans[9] and Acacia catenulata and all have a resemblance to Acacia aneura. It is known to form hybrids with Acacia rhodoxylon in parts of Queensland.[4]

The species name honours John Shirley, an educationist and scientist, who also served as on the council of the Royal Society of Queensland for 33 years and was twice President.[10]

Distribution

The tree is found in temperate and semi-arid parts of north eastern Australia in the state Queensland and the Northern Territory and covers an area of around 1,400,000 square kilometres (540,543 sq mi).[1] In Queensland it is found to the north and east from around Toowoomba and eastwards into the Northern Territory to around the Victoria River.[4] It is often part of monsoon forest or dry scrubland but is not a part of rain forest communities[5] it is also found in low open forests or mixed savannah woodlands and can form dense stands.[4]

Uses and cultivation

The wood is hard and heavy, and is a rich dark brown with pale sapwood. Indigenous people used the wood as fuel and to make hunting spears.[6] The bark contains tannins and can be used as an astringent for treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery when taken internally.[11] It is not suitable for use as fenceposts as it tends to rot when in the ground.[12] Lancewood is a hardy tree with potential as a shelter or screening plant. Cattle can eat its leaves for fodder.[6] The plant grows well in a sunny position is a well drained soil and is drought tolerant. It grows in mainly frost-free regions but can tolerate a light frost. It is suitable is areas of shallow and nutrient deficient slightly acid soils. Seedlings are initially slow growing but can increase in size by 180 centimetres (71 in) per year once established. They can produce flowers at an age of 14 months.[11] Seeds needed to be pretreated by scarification prior to planting. It has a symbiotic relationship with different types of soil bacteria that can form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen into the soil.[11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Williams, E. (2017). "Acacia shirleyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  2. ↑ "Lancewood – Acacia shirleyi". WetlandInfo. Department of Environment and Science, Queensland. 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  3. ↑ "Acacia shirleyi". Austrahort. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Acacia shirleyi". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Acacia shirleyi". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants. CSIRO. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 Fitzgerald, P.J. (1991). "The utilisation potential of Acacia shirleyi in the Northern Territory, Australia" (PDF). ACIAR Proceedings Series (35): 151–152.
  7. ↑ Brock, John (2001) [1988]. Native plants of northern Australia. Frenchs Forest, New South Wales: New Holland Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-876334-67-3.
  8. ↑ "Acacia shirleyi Maiden Lancewood". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  9. ↑ "Acacia distans". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  10. ↑ E.N.Marks. "Shirley, John (1849–1922)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 Ken Fern. "Acacia shirleyi". Useful Tropical Plants. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  12. ↑ Eric Anderson (2016). Plants of Central Queensland: Identification and Uses of Native and Introduced Species. CSIRO publishing. ISBN 9781486302260.
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