Branchlets slender, not acutely angular. Pulvinus 4-6 mm long, phyllodes curved or falcate. Spikes spmewhat interrupted, flowers bright golden yellow. Pods contorted with transversely placed seeds. [1]
Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable
Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked
Reasons: Introduced into southern Florida. Tree apparantly can reach great heights, but cannot withstand hurricane winds, and hence is quite dangerous (Palmetto, Fall 1986, p.11).
Population
Population Trend
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
| Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/19891902 |
Major Threats
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| Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
| Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/19891902 |
Conservation Actions
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| Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
| Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/19891902 |
Acacia auriculiformis is native to Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and northern areas of Australia. It has also been introduced to many tropical countries in south and southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America and it is considered an invasive weed in some areas (e.g. Florida, USA), as it escapes from cultivation.
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| Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
| Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/19891902 |
Acacia auriculiformis, commonly known as auri, earleaf acacia, earpod wattle, northern black wattle, Papuan wattle, and tan wattle, is a fast-growing, crooked, gnarly tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It grows up to 30m tall.[2]Acacia auriculiformis has about 47 000 seeds/kg.[3]
[4] Acacia auriculiformis is an evergreen tree that grows between to 15-30 m tall, with a trunk up to 12 m long and 50 cm in diameter. It has dense foliage with an open, spreading crown. The trunk is crooked and the bark vertically fissured. Roots are shallow and spreading. Leaves 10-16 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm wide with 3-8 parallel nerves, thick, leathery and curved. Flowers are 8 cm long and in pairs, creamy yellow and sweet scented. Pods are about 6.5 x 1.5 cm, flat, cartilaginous, glaucous, transversely veined with undulate margins. They are initially straight but on maturity become twisted with irregular spirals. Seeds are transversely held in the pod, broadly ovate to elliptical, about 4-6 x 3-4 mm. The generic name acacia comes from the Greek word ‘akis’ meaning a point or a barb and the specific epithet comes from the Latin ‘auricula’- external ear of animals and ‘forma- form, figure or shape, in allusion to the shape of the pod.
This plant is raised as an ornamental plant, as a shade tree and it is also raised on plantations for fuelwood throughout southeast Asia, Oceania and in Sudan. Its wood is good for making paper, furniture and tools. It contains tannin useful in animal hide tanning. In India, its wood and charcoal are widely used for fuel. Gum from the tree is sold commercially, but it is said not to be as useful as gum arabic.[2] The tree is used to make an analgesic by indigenous Australians.[5] Extracts of Acacia auriculiformis heartwood inhibit fungi that attack wood.[6]
Functional uses
Products
Fodder: Not widely used as fodder, but in India 1-year-old plantations are browsed by cattle. Apiculture: The flowers are a source of pollen for honey production. Fuel: A major source of firewood, its dense wood and high energy (calorific value of 4500-4900 kcal/kg) contribute to its popularity. It provides very good charcoal that glows well with little smoke and does not spark. Fibre: The wood is extensively used for paper pulp. Plantation-grown trees have been found promising for the production of unbleached kraft pulp and high-quality, neutral, sulphite semi-chemical pulp. Large-scale plantations have already been established, as in Kerala, India, for the production of pulp. Timber: The sapwood is yellow; the heartwood light brown to dark red, straight grained and reasonably durable. The wood has a high basic density (500-650 kg/m³), is fine-grained, often attractively figured and finishes well. It is excellent for turnery articles, toys, carom coins, chessmen and handicrafts. Also used for furniture, joinery, tool handles, and for construction if trees of suitable girth are available. Tannin or dyestuff: The bark contains sufficient tannin (13-25%) for commercial exploitation and contains 6-14% of a natural dye suitable for the soga-batik industry. In India, the bark is collected locally for use as tanning material. A natural dye, used in the batik textile industry in Indonesia, is also extracted from the bark. Other products: An edible mushroom, Tylopylus fellus, is common in plantations of A. auriculiformis in Thailand.
Services
Erosion control: Its spreading, superficial and densely matted root system makes A. auriculiformis suitable for stabilizing eroded land. Shade or shelter: The dense, dark-green foliage, which remains throughout the dry season, makes it an excellent shade tree. Planted to provide shelter on beaches and beachfronts. Reclamation: The spreading, densely matted root system stabilizes eroding land. Its rapid early growth, even on infertile sites, and tolerance of both highly acidic and alkaline soils make it popular for stabilizing and revegetating mine spoils. Soil improver: Plantations of A. auriculiformis improve soil physio-chemical properties such as water-holding capacity, organic carbon, nitrogen and potassium through litter fall. Its phyllodes provide a good, long-lasting mulch. Nitrogen fixing: Acacia auriculiformis can fix nitrogen after nodulating with a range of Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium strains. It also has associations with both ecto- and endo-mycorrhizal fungi. Ornamental: It is used for shade and ornamental purposes in cities where its hardiness, dense foliage and bright yellow flowers are positive attributes. Intercropping: The effect of intercropping with annual crops varies. Increased tree growth has been found with kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus), upland rice and groundnut in Thailand; reduced growth with maize in Cameroon.
Pests and diseases
Damage by pests and diseases is minor. In Indonesia, growth rate has been impaired by a rust fungus, Uromyces digitatus; in India, root rot caused by a fungus (Ganoderma lucidum) has been reported. A beetle (Sinoxylon spp.) can girdle young stems and branches, causing them to break. The insect is of concern, because the tree will develop multiple leaders if the main stem is damaged and the length of the bole will be reduced.
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| Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
| Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Acacia_auriculiformis&oldid=654988773 |
Perennial, Trees, Shrubs, Woody throughout, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems greater than 2 m tall, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs glabrous or sparsely glabrate, Leaves alternate, Extrafloral nectary glands on petiole, Stipules inconspicuous, absent, or caducous, Stipules deciduous, Stipules free, Leaves simple, or appearing so, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets 1, Leaves glabrous or nearly so, Leaves reduced to phyllodia, Inflorescences spikes or spike-like, Inflorescence axillary, Inflorescence terminal, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Flowers actinomorphic or somewhat irregular, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx glabr ous, Petals united, valvate, Petals white, Stamens numerous, more than 10, Stamens completely free, separate, Stamens long exserted, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Fruit a legume, Fruit unilocular, Fruit freely dehiscent, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit strongly curved, falcate, bent, or lunate, Fruit spirally coiled or contorted, Fruit coriaceous or becoming woody, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Seed with elliptical line or depression, pleurogram, Seeds ovoid to rounded in outline, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black, Seeds with appendage - aril, caruncle, funiculus, or strophiole.
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| Rights holder/Author | Compiled from several sources by Dr. David Bogler, Missouri Botanical Garden in collaboration with the USDA NRCS NPDC |
| Source | http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ACAU |
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Unknown/Undetermined
Confidence: Confident
Distribution: An ornamental tree from Tropical Australia, cultivated in gardens.
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| Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
| Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200011845 |
