From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Species of plant
Acacia doratoxylon
, commonly known as
currawang
,
lancewood
,
spearwood
[1]
or
coast myall
,
[2]
is a shrub or tree belonging to the genus
Acacia
and the subgenus
Juliflorae
that is native to eastern and south eastern
Australia
.
Description
[
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]
The shrub or tree typically grows to a height of 3 to 8 m (9.8 to 26.2 ft)
[1]
and a maximum height of 10 m (33 ft) and has a single stem
[3]
with an erect to spreading habit.
[1]
It has dark greyish brown to black coloured bark on the trunk which is corrugated. The
glabrous
or appressed-hairy branchlets are angled towards the apices. Like most species of
Acacia
it has
phyllodes
rather than true leaves. The green to bright green phyllodes have a narrowly elliptic to more or less linear shape and are straight to slightly curved. The phyllodes are glabrous with a length of 9 to 20 cm (3.5 to 7.9 in) and a width of 2 to 8 mm (0.079 to 0.315 in) with many faint longitudinal veins and one prominent mid-vein. It blooms between August and September in northern areas and September to November in southern areas and produces golden flowers. The
inflorescences
mostly occur in groups of two to five on an axillary axis that is 2 to 15 mm (0.079 to 0.591 in) in length. The cylindrical flowers heads have a length of 2 to 3.5 mm (0.079 to 0.138 in) and are densely packed with bright yellow flowers. Following flowering, usually from December to February,
[4]
glabrous, papery and brittle
seed pods
form that are straight and flat but slightly raised and constricted between seeds and are 4 to 10 cm (1.6 to 3.9 in) in length and 2 to 4 mm (0.079 to 0.157 in) and have longitudinally arranged seeds inside towards seed.
[3]
Taxonomy
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The species was first formally described by the botanist
Allan Cunningham
in 1825 in B. Field's work
Geographical Memoirs on New South Wales
.
[5]
[6]
It was reclassified by
Leslie Pedley
in 2003 as
Racosperma doratoxylon
and transferred back to genus
Acacia
in 2006.
[7]
The
specific epithet
originates from the
Greek
words
doratos
meaning
spear
and
xylon
meaning
wood
in reference to the use of the wood by
Indigenous Australian
groups including the
Koori
peoples to manufacture spears from the wood.
[4]
Distribution
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It is
endemic
to central parts of
New South Wales
, the
Australian Capital Territory
and
Victoria
. It is fairly common on the western slopes of the
Great Dividing Range
and plains of New South Wales and its range extends through the southern tablelands through the Australian Capital Territory and across Ovens Range in Victoria.
[3]
In New South Wales it is found as far east as
Wollemi
spreading as far west as the
Ivanhoe District
and as far north as
Brewarrina
. It is found on rocky ridges where it is associated with
Eucalyptus
and
Callitris
woodland communities and on red sandy plains where it is often part of
mallee
communities.
[1]
In Victoria it is considered rare and has a small disjunct distribution in the
East Gippsland
Uplands and the northern inland slopes in the Barambogie Range close to
Beechworth
and around
Suggan Buggan
where it grows on rocky well-drained hillsides and ridges.
[2]
Cultivation
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The plant is widely available for cultivation in seeds form although seeds need to be scarified or treated with boiling water prior to sowing. It prefers a well-drained and reasonably dry position and is
frost
tolerant. It is often planted as a good screen plant in its rounded shrub form and makes a suitable hedge
[8]
or windbreak.
[4]
Uses
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]
A. doratoxylon
can be used for
land rehabilitation
and can grow quickly in rocky soils that are prone to
erosion
and on recharge areas. It is also
nitrogen fixing
which will increase soil fertility and makes a suitable
habitat
for native species. It produces
pollen
prolifically which is a good food source for native moths, butterflies and insects, attracting insectivorous birds. Other birds including native pigeons and parrots consume the seeds. The timber is a good fuel and produces a hot fire. The dark brown wood is dense and very hard and heavy and used to manufacture for furniture. Indigenous Australians used it to make spears.
[4]
The foliage is used as fodder for stock during times of
drought
.
[9]
See also
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References
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]