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32-448: Acacia ligulata is a species of Acacia , a dense shrub widespread in all states of mainland Australia. It is not considered rare or endangered. Its common names include sandhill wattle , umbrella bush , marpoo , dune wattle , small coobah , wirra , and watarrka (also spelt watarka ). The genus Acacia is derived from the Greek akakia , referring to sharp thorns. The shape of

64-597: A different type , in order to retain the Australasian group of species in the genus Acacia . Following a controversial decision to choose a new type for Acacia in 2005, the Australian component of Acacia s.l. now retains the name Acacia . At the 2011 International Botanical Congress held in Melbourne , Australia, the decision to use the name Acacia , rather than the proposed Racosperma for this genus,

96-453: A different type species for Acacia ( A. penninervis ) and allowing this largest number of species to remain in Acacia , resulting in the two pan-tropical lineages being renamed Vachellia and Senegalia , and the two endemic American lineages renamed Acaciella and Mariosousa . In 2003, Anthony Orchard and Bruce Maslin filed a proposal to conserve the name Acacia with

128-554: A prominent yellowish mid-vein, lateral veins not apparent. The tip of the phyllode is obtuse with a mucro , a small hard point, 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 , sit on sparsely pubescent peduncles 4-10mm long. Each flower head consists of about 20 minute flowers. The seed pods, legumes , are light brown and curved, 5–10 cm long and 5-10mm wide, constricted between

160-440: A species from Africa, as the lectotype of the name. Genus Acacia was considered to contain some 1 352 species leading to 1986. That year, Leslie Pedley questioned the monophyletic nature of the genus, and proposed a split into three genera: Acacia sensu stricto (161 species), Senegalia (231 species) and Racosperma (960 species), the last name first proposed in 1829 by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius as

192-509: A synonym, other literature places the species in the family Mimosaceae . A. ligulata is one of the most widespread species of Acacia in Australia, common to central and southern Australia, mostly south of the Tropic of Capricorn in arid areas. Charles Sturt called the habitat ‘stupendous and almost insurmountable sand-ridges of a fiery red’ . This area of north-west New South Wales,

224-461: A term used in antiquity to describe a preparation extracted from Vachellia nilotica , the original type species . A number of species of Acacia have been introduced to various parts of the world, and two million hectares of commercial plantations have been established. Plants in the genus Acacia are shrubs or trees with bipinnate leaves, the mature leaves sometimes reduced to phyllodes or rarely absent. There are 2 small stipules at

256-527: A thread-like style that is longer than the stamens. The fruit is a variably-shaped pod , sometimes flat or cylindrical, containing seeds with a fleshy aril on the end. The genus was first validly named in 1754 by Philip Miller in The Gardeners Dictionary . In 1913 Nathaniel Lord Britton and Addison Brown selected Mimosa scorpioides L. (≡ Acacia scorpioides ( L. ) W.Wight = Acacia nilotica ( L. ) Delille ),

288-486: Is a common adaptation to seed dispersal by ants ( myrmecochory ). This is most notable in Australian and South African sclerophyll plant communities. Typically, ants carry the diaspore to their nest, where they may eat the elaiosome and discard the seed, and the seed may subsequently germinate . A diaspore of seed(s) plus fruit is common in plants dispersed by frugivores . Fruit-eating bats typically carry

320-616: Is a common food source and host plant for butterflies of the genus Jalmenus . The imperial hairstreak, Jalmenus evagoras , feeds on at least 25 acacia species. Many reptiles feed on the sap, such as the native house gecko in Australia. The sap is also consumed by bugs (Hemiptera), such as Hackerobrachys viridiventris and Sextius virescens . Some species of acacia contain psychoactive alkaloids , and some contain potassium fluoroacetate . The seed pods, flowers, and young leaves are generally edible either raw or cooked. Aboriginal Australians have traditionally harvested

352-485: Is a genus of about 1,084 species 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 Australasia , but is now reserved for species mainly from Australia, with others from New Guinea , Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean. The genus name is Neo-Latin , borrowed from the Greek ἀκακία ( akakia ),

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384-479: 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 species in sand plain mulga shrublands and was used in an emissions bioassay at Olympic Dam . Its roots are host to witchetty grub and food for the larvae of the butterfly Nacaduba biocellata . The phyllodes are eaten by cattle and often defoliated by rabbits around

416-893: The Eocene of the Paris Basin . Acacia -like fossil pods under the name Leguminocarpon are known from late Oligocene deposits at different sites in Hungary . Seed pod fossils of † Acacia parschlugiana and † Acacia cyclosperma are known from Tertiary deposits in Switzerland . † Acacia colchica has been described from the Miocene of West Georgia . Pliocene fossil pollen of an Acacia sp. has been described from West Georgia (including Abkhazia ). The oldest fossil Acacia pollen in Australia are recorded as being from

448-581: The Northern Territory . Acacia ligulata grows as an erect or spreading shrub, 2 to 4 metres tall and 3 metres across, 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. The phyllodes , 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

480-531: 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 and bluebush communities, in woodlands, in mallee communities. 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 . It

512-414: The base of the leaf, but sometimes fall off as the leaf matures. The flowers are borne in spikes or cylindrical heads, sometimes singly, in pairs or in racemes in the axils of leaves or phyllodes, sometimes in panicles on the ends of branches. Each spike or cylindrical head has many small golden-yellow to pale creamy-white flowers, each with 4 or 5  sepals and petals, more than 10  stamens , and

544-538: The diaspore to a favorite perch, where they eat the fruit and discard the seed. Fruit-eating birds typically swallow small seeds but, like bats, may carry larger seeded fruits to a perch where they eat the fruit and discard the seed. Diaspores such as achenes and samarae are dispersed primarily by wind ; samaras are dispersed also by sailing or tumbling as they fall in still air. Drift fruits and some others are dispersed by water. Tumbleweeds are dispersed by wind, sometimes over very long distances. These occur in

576-603: The late Oligocene epoch , 25 million years ago. Species of Acacia occurs in all Australian states and territories, and on its nearby islands. About 20 species occur naturally outside Australia and 7 of these also occur in Australia. One species ( Acacia koa ) is native to Hawaii and one ( Acacia heterophylla ) is native to Mauritius and Réunion in the Indian Ocean. They are present in all terrestrial habitats, including alpine settings, rainforests, woodlands, grasslands, coastal dunes and deserts. In drier woodlands or forests they are an important component of

608-403: The lower part of the plant. Kangaroos and livestock use the plants as shelter. Herbivores grazing on the seedlings can severely limit regeneration. A. ligulata flowers during May to November, depending on the region, odd flowers occurring throughout the year. Seeds are produced between November and January. They have diaspores with fleshy appendages indicating dispersal by birds, including

640-403: The most attractive timbers in the genus. Black wattle bark supported the tanning industries of several countries, and may supply tannins for production of waterproof adhesives . In Vietnam , Acacia is used in plantations of non-native species that are regularly clear-cut for paper or timber uses. Wattle bark collected in Australia in the 19th century was exported to Europe where it

672-657: The name of a section in Acacia , but raised to generic rank in 1835. In 2003, Pedley published a paper with 834 new combinations in Racosperma for species, most of which were formerly placed in Acacia . All but 10 of these species are native to Australasia , where it constitutes the largest plant genus. In the early 2000s, it had become evident that the genus as it stood was not monophyletic and that several divergent lineages needed to be placed in separate genera. It turned out that one lineage comprising over 900 species mainly native to Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia

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704-661: The phyllodes named the species ligulata , meaning strap-like or with a small tongue in Latin. Common names include sandhill wattle, umbrella bush, marpoo, dune wattle, small coobah, wirra, and watarrka. The latter name (pronounced what-ARR-kah) is the Luritja word for the species, and gives its name to the Aboriginal ( Luritja and Arrernte ) name for Kings Canyon , as well as the Watarrka National Park , in

736-473: The plant by mixing its ashes with the dried and powdered leaves of Duboisia hopwoodii to prepare a stimulant chewing mixture ( pituri ) 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. Acacia List of Acacia species Acacia , commonly known as wattles or acacias ,

768-435: The red wattlebird , and ants ( myrmecochory ). Ants can transport the seeds up to 180m and disperse it within an area of 3000 m around their nest. A. ligulata is used as a hedge and windbreak, to stabilise sandy areas, for revegetation 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 have used

800-452: 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. 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. Earlier literature mentions A. williamsonii as

832-693: The seeds of some species, to be ground into flour and eaten as a paste or baked into a cake. Wattleseeds contain as much as 25% more protein than common cereals, and they store well for long periods due to the hard seed coats. In addition to using the edible seed and gum, the people employed the timber for implements, weapons, fuel and musical instruments. A number of species, most notably Acacia mangium (hickory wattle), A. mearnsii (black wattle) and A. saligna (coojong), are economically important and are widely planted globally for wood products, tannin , firewood and fodder. A. melanoxylon (blackwood) and A. aneura (mulga) supply some of

864-528: The tribe Ingeae . The genus name is Neo-Latin , borrowed from the Greek akakia , a name used by Dioscorides for some prickly species growing in Egypt, from acacis meaning "a point". In his Pinax (1623), Bauhin mentioned the Greek ἀκακία from Dioscorides as the origin of the Latin name. The origin of " wattle " may be an Old Teutonic word meaning "to weave". From around 700   AD, watul

896-488: The understory. Elsewhere they may be dominant, as in the Brigalow Belt , Myall woodlands and the eremaean Mulga woodlands. In Australia, Acacia forest is the second most common forest type after eucalypt forest, covering 980,000 square kilometres (378,380 sq mi) or 8% of total forest area. Acacia is also the nation's largest genus of flowering plants with almost 1 000 species found. Acacia

928-415: Was not closely related to the much smaller group of African lineage that contained A. nilotica – the type species . This meant that the Australasian lineage (by far the most prolific in number of species) would need to be renamed. Pedley's proposed name of Racosperma for this group had received little acclaim in the botanical community. Australian botanists proposed a less disruptive solution, setting

960-477: Was upheld. Other Acacia s.l. taxa continue to be called Acacia by those who choose to consider the entire group as one genus. The Australian species of the genus Paraserianthes s.l. (namely P. lophantha) are deemed its closest relatives. The nearest relatives of Acacia and Paraserianthes s.l. in turn include the Australian and South East Asian genera Archidendron , Archidendropsis , Pararchidendron and Wallaceodendron , all of

992-503: Was used in Old English to refer to the flexible woody vines, branches, and sticks which were interwoven to form walls, roofs, and fences. Since about 1810 it has been used as the common name for the Australian legume trees and shrubs that can provide these branches. There are about 1,080 species of Acacia , mostly native to Australia. An Acacia -like 14 cm (5.5 in) long fossil seed pod has been described from

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1024-707: Was used in the tanning process . One ton of wattle or mimosa bark contained about 68 kilograms (150 pounds) of pure tannin. The gum of some species may be used as a substitute for gum arabic , known as Australian gum or wattle gum. Some species of acacia – notably Acacia baileyana , A. dealbata and A. pravissima – are cultivated as ornamental garden plants. The 1889 publication Useful Native Plants of Australia describes various uses for eating. Diaspores Diaspores are common in weedy and ruderal species . Collectively, diaspores, seeds, and spores that have been modified for migration are known as disseminules . A diaspore of seed plus elaiosome

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