Acacia tumida

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 tumida
Varieties: A. t. var. extenta – A. t. var. kulparn – A. t. var. pilbarensis – A. t. var. tumida
Name

Acacia tumida F.Muell. ex Benth., 1864
Synonyms

Racosperma tumidum (F.Muell. ex Benth.) Pedley

Distribution
Native distribution areas:
Acacia tumida

Continental: Australasia
Regional: Australia
Northern Territory, Western Australia

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

Bentham, G. & Mueller, F.J.H. v. 1864. Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian territory. Volume 2. Leguminosae to Combretaceae. 521 pp., London, L. Reeve & co. BHL Reference page. : 2:409.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Acacia tumida in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2020 Aug 16. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Acacia tumida. Published online. Accessed: Aug 16 2019.
Tropicos.org 2019. Acacia tumida. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 16 Aug 2019.
Catalogue of Life: 2021 Annual Checklist
Acacia tumida – Taxon details on World Wide Wattle.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Acacia tumida in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.

Vernacular names
English: pindan wattle, spear wattle, wongai

Acacia tumida, known colloquially as pindan wattle, spear wattle or wongai,[1] is a species of Acacia native to northern and western Australia.[2]

Description

The openly branched spreading tree or shrub typically grows to a height of 5 to 15 metres (16 to 49 ft) with a well developed canopy. It has hard grey glossy bark that is occasionally fissured[3] with pruinose orange to yellow branchlets. It has falcate to subfalcate glaucous green phyllodes that are 6 to 25 centimetres (2 to 10 in) long and 0.7 to 6 cm (0.3 to 2.4 in) wide.[4]

It produces between April and October and produces yellow[2] inflorescences, usually racemose or axillary or terminal panicles 20 cm (7.9 in) long. These eventually develop into narrow oblong woody glabrous seed pods that are 3 to 12 cm (1.2 to 4.7 in) in length containing glossy black seeds.[4]

A. tumida grows quickly but has a short lifespan, usually less than 10 years.[3]
Range

A. tumida has a range that extends from the Kimberley, Pilbara and north eastern Goldfields regions of Western Australia including much of the Great Sandy Desert. It also extends into the Victoria River district of the Northern Territory.[4] It grows well in sandplain areas in red sandy or pindan soils over sandstone.[2] They often form dense thickets with spinifex.

It is also cultivated in Yemen, Vietnam,[4] Senegal and Niger.[3]
Varieties

There are four recognised varieties of Acacia tumida:

Acacia tumida var. extensis
Acacia tumida var. kulparn
Acacia tumida var. pilbarensis
Acacia tumida var. tumida

Uses

Indigenous Australians used the trunk of young trees to fashion spears and boomerangs. The green seed pods were cooked over coals and the seeds then eaten. Fully ripened black seeds were ground into flour mixed with water and consumed as a paste or cooked and eaten as a damper.[1] Other traditional uses include making string from the bark and using the gum exudate as a food source.[4]

It is cultivated in Senegal and Niger, where it is used as good quality firewood and to create low windbreaks. It is also used with slower growing plants for binding soil.[3]
See also

List of Acacia species

References

"Acacia tumida (Spear Wattle)". Society for Kimberley Indigenous Plants and Animals. 2011-11-07. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
"Acacia tumida F.Muell. ex Benth". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
"Acacia tumida F. Muell. ex Benth". Food and Agriculture Organization. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
"Acacia tumida F. Muell. ex Benth., Fl. Austral. 2: 409 (1864)". World Wide Wattle. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.