''Albizia canescens'', commonly known as Belmont siris, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of ''

Albizia ''Albizia'' is a genus of more than 160 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, America and A ...

'',

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 ...

Northern Australia The unofficial geographic term Northern Australia includes those parts of Queensland and Western Australia north of latitude 26° and all of the Northern Territory. Those local government areas of Western Australia and Queensland that lie p ...

Description

While superficially similar to the closely related '' A. lebbek'', which has an overlapping native range, ''A. canescens'' can be distinguished by several features. The crown of ''A. canescens'' is more open than that of ''A. lebbeck'', and the foliage glaucous rather than dark green. Both the flowers and pods of ''A. canescens'' are small and inconspicuous compared to the showy, globular flowers and large pods of ''A. lebbeck'', and the bark of ''A. canescens'' is fissured, corky and more fire resistant than the tessellated bark of ''A. lebbek''.Lowry, J.B. 2008 "Trees for Wood and Animal Production in Northern Australia". Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Indooroopilly, Queensland The growth habit of the species is variable, with individuals able to persist and fruit as either a large single stemmed tree to 10 metres, or as a large multi-stemmed shrub. The shrub form appears to develop as a result of

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...

regeneration following burning and enables the species to survive in the

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', '' Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

s of Northern Australia which are subject to frequent fire.

Distribution and ecology

''Albizia canescens'' is

in a belt from

The Kimberley The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, an ...

across the

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...

to Rockhampton in

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coas ...

. The species grows as a medium-sized tree scattered throughout

s. It is rarely abundant in any locale, though common on the CSIRO research station "Belmont" in Central Queensland, from whence it derives its common name. The species appears to have been more common in the past, and the apparent decline may be due to increased fire and browsing pressure from introduced herbivores.Lowry, B. 2000 "Dual purpose trees in tropical pastures - more on true albizias" in "Pastures for Production and Protection Proceedings of the 6th Australian Tropical Pastures Conference, Emerald". The species is subject to the same diseases and pests that afflict ''A. lebbek''. ''A. canescens'' exhibits an annual leaf drop that occurs with, or shortly prior to, the initiation of new leaf growth, so individuals are either evergreen or very briefly deciduous. Seeds are short lived and susceptible to insect attack.

Human uses

''Albizia canescens'' is a little-known tree even within its native range. In the early 20th century it was used to some degree as a source of high quality cabinet timber, although this use has apparently ceased, possibly due to a decline in abundance. However the species retains potential as a high value plantation species, being capable of rapid growth. The species also has high potential as an agroforestry species, due to the value of the leaves and pods as stock feed. Although the leaf and pod fall is produced in lower quantities than those of ''A. lebbek'', the material is much more palatable to livestock. ''A. canescens'' also enhances pasture growth at low densities.

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...

traditionally used the gum of the tree as a food source. ''Albizia canescens'' is also contains many of the same psychoactive components as ''A. lebbeck'' although no record of its use as a psychoactive agent exists.Rätsch (2004)

Footnotes

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4712589 canescens Forages Flora of Queensland Eudicots of Western Australia Bushfood