Acacia shirleyi

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 shirleyi
Name

Acacia shirleyi Maiden, 1919
Synonyms

Acacia doratoxylon var. laxiflora Domin
Racosperma shirleyi (Maiden) Pedley

Distribution
Native distribution areas:
Acacia shirleyi

Continental: Australasia
Regional: Australia
Northern Territory, Queensland

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

Maiden, J.H. , 1919. Journal and proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 53:218.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Acacia shirleyi 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 14. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Acacia shirleyi. Published online. Accessed: Aug 14 2019.
Tropicos.org 2019. Acacia shirleyi. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Aug 14.
Catalogue of Life: 2020 Annual Checklist
Acacia shirleyi – Taxon details on World Wide Wattle.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Acacia shirleyi in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.

Vernacular names
English: Lancewood

Acacia shirleyi, known colloquially as lancewood,[2][3] is a species of Acacia native to Queensland and the Northern Territory in Australia.[1] It grows as a tree to 15 metres (49 ft) 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 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[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 centimetres (24 in) thick.[6] When cut or exposed, the bark 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 (0.08 to 0.28 in) wide. Veins are only found in the midrib area and are 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] producing 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 its original 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 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 rainforest 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 fence posts 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 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 180 centimetres (71 in) per year once established. They can produce flowers at an age of 14 months.[11] Seeds need 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

List of Acacia species

References

Williams, E. (2017). "Acacia shirleyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22483811A22484311. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T22483811A22484311.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
"Lancewood – Acacia shirleyi". WetlandInfo. Department of Environment and Science, Queensland. 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
"Acacia shirleyi". Austrahort. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
"Acacia shirleyi". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Acacia shirleyi". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
Fitzgerald, P.J. (1991). "The utilisation potential of Acacia shirleyi in the Northern Territory, Australia" (PDF). ACIAR Proceedings Series (35): 151–152.
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.
"Acacia shirleyi Maiden Lancewood". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
"Acacia distans". World Wide Wattle. Western Australian Herbarium. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
E.N.Marks. "Shirley, John (1849–1922)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
Ken Fern. "Acacia shirleyi". Useful Tropical Plants. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
Eric Anderson (2016). Plants of Central Queensland: Identification and Uses of Native and Introduced Species. CSIRO publishing. ISBN 9781486302260.