''Acacia ligulata'' is a flowering plant in the family

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

. It is a dense, rounded shrub with bright yellow flower heads and is widespread in all states of mainland Australia. Its common names include sandhill wattle, umbrella bush, marpoo, dune wattle, small coobah, wirra, and watarrka (also spelt watarka).

Etymology and naming

The genus ''Acacia'' is derived from the Greek ''akakia'', referring to sharp thorns. The shape of the phyllodes named the species ''ligulata'', meaning strap-like or with a small tongue in Latin.Simmons, M. H. (1988). Acacias of Australia, vol. 2. Ringwood, Australia: Penguin Books Australia Ltd. p. 166. Common names include sandhill wattle, umbrella bush, marpoo, dune wattle, small coobah,Cunningham, G. M., Mulham, W. E., Milthorpe, P. L., & Leigh, J. H. (1992). Plants of western New South Wales. Melbourne & Sydney, Australia: Inkata Press. p. 365. wirra,Moore, P. (2005). A guide to plants of inland Australia. Sydney, Australia: New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd. p. 331. and watarrka. The latter name (pronounced what-ARR-kah) is the

Luritja The Luritja or Loritja people, also known as Kukatja or Kukatja-Luritja, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory. Their traditional lands are immediately west of the Derwent River, that forms a frontier with the Arrernte p ...

word for the species, and gives its name to the Aboriginal (

and

Arrernte Arrernte (also spelt Aranda, etc.) is a descriptor related to a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples from Central Australia. It may refer to: * Arrernte (area), land controlled by the Arrernte Council (?) * Arrernte people, Aboriginal Australi ...

) name for Kings Canyon, as well as the Watarrka National Park, in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

Description

''Acacia ligulata'' grows as an erect or spreading shrub, 2 to 4 metres tallHarden, G. J.. (2002). Flora of New South Wales.Vol.2. Sydney, Australia: University of New South Wales Press Ltd. p. 450. and 3 metres across,Rotherham, E. R., Briggs, B. G., Blaxell, D. F., & Carolin, R. C. (1975). Australian Flora in colour – Flowers and plants of New South Wales and southern Queensland. Sydney, Australia: A. H. & A. W. Reed Pty Ltd. p. 150. sometimes dome-shaped, often branching from the ground. The bark is often grooved at the base, but is otherwise smooth. Its branchlets are angular with yellowish ribs, often with hair.Tame, T. (1992). ''Acacias'' of southeast Australia. Kenthurst, Australia: Kangaroo Press Pty Ltd. p. 136. The

phyllode Phyllodes are modified petiole (botany), petioles or leaf stems, which are leaf-like in appearance and function. In some plants, these become flattened and widened, while the leaf itself becomes reduced or vanishes altogether. Thus the phyllode co ...

s, appearing like leaves, are light to blue green, usually linear-oblong, slightly curved, 3–10 cm long and 4-10mm wide, thick and hairless, and wrinkled during dry periods. They have a prominent yellowish mid-vein, lateral veins not apparent.The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust. PlantNET - The Plant Information Network System of The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia. Retrieved June 201

/ref> The tip of the phyllode is obtuse with
mucro
a small hard point,Greig, D. (2002). A photographic guide to wildflowers of outback Australia. Sydney, Australia: New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd. p. 71. pointing downward. Two to four glands are found below the centre of the phyllode and near the mucro. Yellow to orange globular flower heads of 5-6mm diameter, singular or 2 to 5 in short axillary

racemes A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the shoo ...

, sit on sparsely pubescent peduncles 4-10mm long. Each flower head consists of about 20 minute flowers. The seed pods,

legumes Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consu ...

, are light brown and curved, 5–10 cm long and 5-10mm wide, constricted between the seeds and breaking easily into one-seeded segments. The stalk of the seed pod is orange to red. The seeds appear black and oval shaped, up to 3.5x3.5mm in size, situated longitudinal within the seed pod.

Taxonomy

''A. ligulata'' belongs to the ''A. bivenosa'' group of 12 species. Previously considered a variety of ''A. salicina'', differing by its rigid branches, undivided crown, and seed pod characteristics.Baumer, M., (1983). EMASAR phase II. Notes on trees and shrubs in arid and semi-arid regions. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 20. Earlier literature mentions ''A. williamsonii'' as a synonym,World Wide Wattle. Retrieved June 2012
/ref> other literature places the species in the family ''Mimosaceae''.

Distribution and habitat

''A. ligulata'' is one of the most widespread species of ''Acacia'' in Australia, common to central and southern Australia,World Wide Wattle. Retrieved June 2012
/ref> mostly south of the

Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reach ...

in arid areas.

Charles Sturt Charles Napier Sturt (28 April 1795 – 16 June 1869) was a British officer and explorer of Australia, and part of the European land exploration of Australia, European exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the ...

called the habitat ''‘stupendous and almost insurmountable sand-ridges of a fiery red’''.Keith, D. (2004). Ocean shores to desert dunes – The native vegetation of New South Wales and the ACT. Hurstville NSW: Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW). pp. 294-295. This area of north-west New South Wales, the Sand Plain Mulga Shrublands, supports an open cover of shrubs and tussock grasses. ''A. ligulata'' is found on sand dunes, on the fringes of salt lakes, on floodplains, in mulga an
bluebush
communities, in woodlands, in mallee communities.

Ecology

''A. ligulata'' grows in dense shrub communities on sand dunes, otherwise singly scattered. Fast-growing, it stabilises sand dunes and regenerates quickly after disturbance, such as

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

. It is known for potential weediness due to rapid regrowth. It is found in the hottest and driest climates of Australia with rainfall of less than 200mm and survives light frost. It is an

indicative A realis mood ( abbreviated ) is a grammatical mood which is used principally to indicate that something is a statement of fact; in other words, to express what the speaker considers to be a known state of affairs, as in declarative sentence Dec ...

species in sand plain mulga shrublands and was used in an emissions

bioassay A bioassay is an analytical method to determine the potency or effect of a substance by its effect on animal testing, living animals or plants (''in vivo''), or on living cells or tissues (''in vitro''). A bioassay can be either quantal or quantit ...

at Olympic Dam.Read, J. L., Kovac, K-J., & Fatchen, T. J., (2002), ‘Biohyets’: A holistic method for demonstrating the extent and severity of environmental impacts. p. 7. Its roots are host to

witchetty grub The witchetty grub (also spelled witchety grub or witjuti grub) is a term used in Australia for the large, white, wood-eating larvae of several moths. In particular, it applies to the larvae of the Cossidae, cossid moth ''Endoxyla leucomochla'' ...

and food for the larvae of the butterfly ''

Nacaduba biocellata ''Nacaduba biocellata'', the double-spotted line blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Australia (including New South Wales, the Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia), Singapore, the New Heb ...

''.Government of South Australia, Department of Environment and Natural Resources. eFloraSA. Retrieved June 201

The phyllodes are eaten by

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

and often defoliated by

rabbits Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form ...

around the lower part of the plant.

Kangaroos Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey ...

and livestock use the plants as shelter.

Herbivores A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat ...

grazing on the seedlings can severely limit regeneration.Auld, T. D. (1995). The impact of herbivores on regeneration in four trees from arid Australia. The Rangeland Journal, 17(2), pp. 213-227.

Reproduction and dispersal

''A. ligulata'' flowers during May to November,Western Australian Herbarium (1998). FloraBase—the Western Australian Flora. Department of Environment and Conservation. Retrieved June 201

depending on the region, odd flowers occurring throughout the year. Seeds are produced between November and January. They have

diaspores In botany, a diaspore is a plant dispersal unit consisting of a seed or spore plus any additional tissues that assist dispersal. Examples of such additional structures includes elaiosomes, fruits, pseudofruits or arils, as well as pappi. In a f ...

with fleshy appendages indicating dispersal by birds, including the red

wattlebird ''Anthochaera'' is a genus of birds in the honeyeater family. The species are endemic to Australia and include the little wattlebird, the red wattlebird, the western wattlebird, and the yellow wattlebird. A molecular phylogenetic study has sho ...

,Davidson, D. W. & Morton, S. R., (1984). Dispersal Adaptations of Some ''Acacia'' Species in the Australian Arid Zone. Ecology, 65(4). pp. 1038-1051. and

ants Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

(

myrmecochory Myrmecochory ( (sometimes myrmechory); from ("ant") and ''khoreíā'' ("circular dance") is seed dispersal by ants, an ecologically significant Myrmecophily, ant–plant Biological interaction, interaction with worldwide distribution. Most ...

). Ants can transport the seeds up to 180m and disperse it within an area of 3000 m² around their nest.Whitney, K. D., (2002). Dispersal for distance? ''Acacia ligulata'' seeds and meat ants ''Iridomyrmex viridiaeneu''. Austral Ecology, 27. pp. 589-595.

Uses

''A. ligulata'' is used as a hedge and windbreak, to stabilise sandy areas, for

revegetation Revegetation is the process of replanting and rebuilding the soil of disturbed land. This may be a natural process produced by plant colonization and succession, manmade rewilding projects, accelerated process designed to repair damage to a la ...

and erosion control, also in areas with salinity or alkaline conditions. It can be grown from cuttings and has been used as emergency stock fodder.

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

have used the plant by mixing its ashes with the dried and powdered leaves of ''

Duboisia hopwoodii ''Duboisia hopwoodii'' is a shrub native to the arid interior region of Australia. Common names include pituri, pitchuri thornapple or pitcheri. Description The species has an erect habit, usually growing to between 1 and 3 metres in height, wit ...

'' to prepare a stimulant chewing mixture (

pituri Pituri, also known as mingkulpa, is a mixture of leaves and wood ash traditionally chewed as a stimulant (or, after extended use, a depressant) by Australian Aboriginal, Aboriginal Australians widely across the continent. Leaves are gathered fro ...

) for trading. Gum produced by this species was used for consumption, and the seeds were roasted and ground to make damper. Leaves and bark were used for medicinal purposes, to treat colds, chest infections, and general illnesses.Palombo, E. W., & Semple, S. J., (2001). Antibacterial activity of traditional Australian medicinal plants. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 77, p. 153.

Gallery

Image:A ligulata habit Sturt NP near Tibooburra NSW.jpg, ''A. ligulata''

habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...

Sturt National Park The Sturt National Park is a protected national park that is located in the arid far north-western corner of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately northwest of Sydney and the nearest town is , aw ...

near

Tibooburra Tibooburra (pronounced or ) is a town in the Far West, New South Wales, far northwest of New South Wales, Australia, located from the state capital, Sydney. It is most frequently visited by tourists on their way to Sturt National Park or ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

(NSW) Image:A ligulata habit with person Sturt NP near Tibooburra NSW.jpg, ''A. ligulata'' habit with person, Sturt NP near Tibooburra NSW Image:A ligulata flowers Sturt NP near Tibooburra NSW.jpg, ''A. ligulata'' flowers, Sturt NP near Tibooburra NSW Image:A.ligulata phyllodes mucros.JPG, ''A. ligulata'' showing phyllodes with mucros, Sturt NP near Tibooburra NSW Image:Acacia ligulata seed pod Sturt NP near Tibooburra NSW.jpg, ''A. ligulata'' broken segment of seed pod, Sturt NP near Tibooburra NSW

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q978642 Fabales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Flora of Victoria (state) Acacias of Western Australia ligulata Taxa named by Allan Cunningham (botanist)