''Acacia shirleyi'', known colloquially as lancewood, is a species of ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

'' native to

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and 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 ...

in Australia. It grows as a tree to high, with dark grey or black stringy bark and blue-grey foliage. The yellow flowers appear from March to July. It grows in dry scrub, open forest or mixed

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

woodland. Indigenous people used the wood as fuel and to make hunting spears. Cattle can eat the foliage as fodder.

Description

The small tree has a single stem which is layered with dead bark and an umbrella shaped

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, ...

. It typically grows to a height of around . The stringy bark is dark grey to black in colour, and the trunk can be up to thick. When cut or exposed, the bark will emit an odour reminiscent of violets. The evergreen linear to slightly curved

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 are around in length and wide. Veins are only found in the midrib area and are raised on both surfaces of the blade. The foliage has a blue-grey hue overall. It flowers between about March and July, producing moderately dense flower-spikes that are in length with small lemon yellow flowers. Following flowering linear woody brown

seed pod This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnify ...

s are formed that are raised over the seeds and constricted between. The pods have a length of around and a width of . The black seeds within have a broadly elliptic shape and are in length.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist

Joseph Maiden Joseph Henry Maiden (25 April 1859 – 16 November 1925) was a botanist who made a major contribution to knowledge of the Australian flora, especially the genus ''Eucalyptus''. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing ...

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 Leslie Pedley (19 May 1930 – 27 November 2018)IPNILeslie Pedley/ref> was an Australian botanist who specialised in the genus ''Acacia''. He is notable for bringing into use the generic name ''Racosperma'', creating a split in the genus, which r ...

as ''Racosperma shirleyi'', then transferred back to its original genus in 2001. ''A. shirleyi'' is most closely related to ''

Acacia distans ''Acacia distans'' is a tree belonging to the genus ''Acacia'' and the subgenus ''Juliflorae'' that is endemic to arid parts of western Australia. Description The tree typically grows to a height of and has fissured and fibrous grey bark. It ha ...

'' and '' Acacia catenulata '' and all have a resemblance to ''

Acacia aneura ''Acacia aneura'', commonly known as mulga, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to inland Australia. It is a variable shrub or small tree with flat, narrowly linear to elliptic phyllodes, cylindrical spike ...

''. It is known to form hybrids with ''

Acacia rhodoxylon ''Acacia rhodoxylon'', also known as rosewood, ringy rosewood or spear wattle, is a tree belonging to the genus ''Acacia'' and the subgenus ''Juliflorae'' that is native to north eastern Australia. Description The tree typically grows to a heig ...

'' in parts of Queensland. The species name honours John Shirley, an educationist and scientist, who also served on the council of the

Royal Society of Queensland The Royal Society of Queensland was formed in Queensland, Australia in 1884 from the Queensland Philosophical Society, Queensland's oldest scientific institution, with royal patronage granted in 1885. The aim of the Society is "Progressing scie ...

for 33 years and was twice President.

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 . In Queensland it is found to the north and east from around

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

and eastwards into the Northern Territory to around the Victoria River. It is often part of monsoon forest or dry scrubland but is not a part of rainforest communities. It is also found in low open forests or mixed

woodlands and can form dense stands.

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. The bark contains

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

s and can be used as an

astringent An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin '' adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Astringency, the dry, puckering or numbing mouthfeel caused by t ...

for treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery when taken internally. It is not suitable for use as fence posts as it tends to rot when in the ground. Lancewood is a hardy tree with potential as a shelter or screening plant. Cattle can eat its leaves for fodder. The plant grows well in a sunny position in a well-drained soil and is drought tolerant. It grows in mainly frost-free regions but can tolerate a light frost. It is suitable in areas of shallow and nutrient deficient slightly acid soils. Seedlings are initially slow growing but can increase in size by per year once established. They can produce flowers at an age of 14 months. Seeds need to be pretreated by scarification prior to planting. It has a

symbiotic Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biolo ...

relationship with different types of soil bacteria that can form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen into the soil.

References

External links