''Acacia cincinnata'', also known as the Daintree wattle or circle fruit salwood,
is a species of
leguminous trees of the plant family
, found naturally in north eastern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Description
It is usually a small tree with a height of
and has been recorded with a
dbh of .
It has furrowed and flaky bark that is dark grey to black in colour. The stout and angular, lightly haired branchlets with a pale brownish grey colour. Like many species of ''Acacia'' it has
phyllode
Phyllodes are modified petioles or leaf stems, which are leaf-like in appearance and function. In some plants, these become flattened and widened, while the leaf itself becomes reduced or vanishes altogether. Thus the phyllode comes to serve the ...
s rather than true leaves. The flat evergreen phyllodes have a
falcate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...
narrowly elliptic shape that tapers gradually towards apex and base. They are in length with a width of with three 3 main conspicuous nerves.
[ The tree flowers between May and June, producing yellow inflorescences.]
Taxonomy
The species was first formally described by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...
in 1878 as part of the work '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae''. It was reclassified as ''Racosperma cincinnatum'' in 1987 by Leslie Pedley then transferred back to genus ''Acacia'' in 2006.
Distribution
The tree is endemic to Queensland where it is often situated along the margins of rainforest in damper parts of the Atherton Tableland
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia.
The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tina ...
, the Eungella Range and the adjacent coast and in high rainfall areas between Maryborough and Brisbane. The tree is also found along river banks and in open '' Eucalyptus'' forest communities usually growing in sandy soils over granite.[
]
See also
* List of ''Acacia'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4670892
Flora of Queensland
Plants described in 1879
Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller