''Acacia tetragonophylla'', commonly known as curara, kurara or dead finish, is a

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Fabaceae that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to arid and semi-arid parts of central and western Australia.

Description

Curara grows as a tall shrub or small tree up to a height of and has an intricate and often straggly habit with

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

branchlets. Like most '' Acacia'' species, it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. These are slender and needle-like with a length of up and a width of . When young they are soft and pliable, but as they mature they become hard, rigid and very sharp. The glabrous phyllodes are formed in groups of two to six on dwarf, knotty and lateral branchlets or singly on new shoots. The phyllodes have a slender linear shape ending in a sharp point and are mostly pentagonal to compressed in cross-section with five to seven prominent nerves. In Western Australia it blooms between May and October producing yellow flowers. The flowers are yellow, and held in spherical clusters. The pods are papery, up to eight centimetres long and about five millimetres wide.

Distribution

It occurs on floodplains and along watercourses in arid and semi-arid areas throughout

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, southern

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

, and east to near

Charleville Charleville can refer to: Australia * Charleville, Queensland, a town in Australia **Charleville railway station, Queensland France * Charleville, Marne, a commune in Marne, France *Charleville-Mézières, a commune in Ardennes, France ** ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

and

Brewarrina Brewarrina (pronounced 'bree-warren-ah'; locally known as "Bre") is a town in north-west New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. The name Brewarrina is derived from 'burru waranha', a Weilwan name for a s ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and is known to grow in a variety of habitats and soil types. In Western Australia it is found in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a g ...

Gascoyne The Gascoyne region is one of the nine administrative regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gasc ...

Mid West The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

, Wheatbelt and Goldfields-Esperance regions.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1863 as part of the work '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae''. It was reclassified as ''Racosperma tetragonophyllum'' by

Leslie Pedley Leslie Pedley (19 May 1930 – 27 November 2018)IPNILeslie Pedley/ref> was an Australian botanist who specialised in the genus ''Acacia''. He is notable for bringing into use the generic name ''Racosperma'', creating a split in the genus, which r ...

in 2003 then transferred back to genus ''Acacia'' in 2006. It is often confused with ''

Acacia sphacelata ''Acacia sphacelata'' is a shrub of the genus ''Acacia'' and the subgenus ''Phyllodineae'' that is endemic to south western Australia. Description The harsh shrub typically grows to a height of . It has light grey to mid-grey coloured bark and g ...

''.

Uses

Aboriginal people in Central Australia collect the seeds to make

seedcakes Bush bread, or seedcakes, refers to the bread made by Aboriginal Australians by crushing seeds into a dough that is then baked. The bread is high in protein and carbohydrate, and forms part of a balanced traditional diet. It is also sometimes ...

. Its name in Pitjantjajara is ''Wakalpuka''. ''Acacia tetragonophylla'' can be used to treat

wart Warts are typically small, rough, hard growths that are similar in color to the rest of the skin. They typically do not result in other symptoms, except when on the bottom of the feet, where they may be painful. While they usually occur on the ...

"A number of cacia tetragonophyllaphyllodes may be inserted into the wart, the main part then being broken off to leave the apices embedded in the wart. After four or five days the wart has shrivelled and may be removed easily."THE LINNEAN Newsletter and Proceedings of THE LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON Burlington House, Pcaily London W1J 0BF icdl, VOLUME 21 • NUMBER 4 • OCTOBER 2005

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q311703 tetragonophylla Fabales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Acacias of Western Australia Australian Aboriginal bushcraft Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Plants described in 1863

Description

Distribution

Taxonomy

Uses

See also

References