Acacia georginae

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Fabales

Familia: Fabaceae
Subfamilia: Caesalpinioideae
Tribus: Acacieae
Genus: Acacia
Species: Acacia georginae
Name

Acacia georginae F.M.Bailey, 1896

Synonyms

Racosperma georginae (F.M.Bailey) Pedley

Distribution
Native distribution areas:
Acacia georginae

Continental: Australasia
Regional: Australia
Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Bailey, F.M., 1896. Botany Bulletin, Department of Agriculture, Queensland. Brisbane 13:9.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Acacia georginae in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Aug 03. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Acacia georginae. Published online. Accessed: Aug 03 2019.
Tropicos.org 2019. Acacia georginae. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Aug 03.
Hassler, M. Aug. Acacia georginae. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. Aug. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: Aug 03 {{{3}}}. Reference page.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Acacia georginae in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.

Vernacular names
English: Georgina Gidgee, Georgina Gidyea, Poison Gidyea

Acacia georginae is a perennial tree which is native to arid areas of central Australia and has been introduced into the United States. Common names for it include Georgina gidgee, Georgina gidyea and poison gidyea.

Description

The tree typically grows to a height of 3 to 8 m (9.8 to 26.2 ft) and has a dense crown with grey to white hairy branchlets. Like most species of Acacia it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. The grey-green hairy phyllodes have a narrowly elliptic shape and are straight to slightly recurves with a length of 4 to 11 cm (1.6 to 4.3 in) and a width of 4 to 16 mm (0.16 to 0.63 in) have one to three more prominent nerves than the many others that are closely parallel and indistinct in comparison.[2] It blooms between May and August and produces seed pods between September and December.[3]
Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist Frederick Manson Bailey in 1896 as a part of the work Botany. Contributions to the Flora of Queensland as published in the Botany Bulletin. Department of Agriculture, Queensland. It was reclassified as Racosperma georginae by Leslie Pedley in 1987 then transferred back to genus Acacia in 2001.[4] The specific epithet recognizes the place that the type specimen was collected, along the Georgina River.[3]
Distribution

Georgina gidgee woodlands have a patchy but widespread distribution in central Australia and are considered Vulnerable (VU) according to the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems.[5] It is widely distributed through arid parts central and eastern Australia from the south eastern Northern Territory in the west extending into Queensland to around the catchment of the Georgina River in the north east and into the far north east of South Australia in the south east where it is usually situated along water courses or on plains growing in loamy or clay soils as a part of low open woodland communities.[2]
Uses

Its uses include timber and fuel.[1] Primarily the seed pods can be extremely poisonous, since they may contain what are called organic fluoroacetates. Unfortunately, sheep and cattle sometimes are poisoned after grazing on the pods.[6]
References

ILDIS LegumeWeb
"Acacia georginae". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
"Acacia georginae". Electronic Flora of South Australia species Fact Sheet. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
"Acacia georginae F.M.Bailey". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
Wardle, Glenda M.; Greenville, Aaron C.; Frank, Anke S. K.; Tischler, Max; Emery, Nathan J.; Dickman, Chris R. (2015). "Ecosystem risk assessment of Georgina gidgee woodlands in central Australia". Austral Ecology. 40 (4): 444–459. doi:10.1111/aec.12265. ISSN 1442-9985.
Veterinary Education and Information Network Archived June 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine