Common Names
Common Names in English:
Curara, Dead Finish, Kurara, Prickly Wattle
Description
Family Fabaceae
The Fabaceae are herbs, vines , shrubs , trees , and lianas found in both temperate and tropical areas. They comprise one of the largest families of flowering plants , numbering 630 genera and 18,000 species. The leaves are stipulate , nearly always alternate, and range from bipinnately or palmately compound to simple . The petiole base is commonly enlarged into a pulvinus that commonly functions in orientation of the leaves (sometimes very responsively, as in the sensitive plant, Mimosa pudica). The flowers are usually bisexual , actinomorphic to zygomorphic, slightly to strongly perigynous, and commonly in racemes , spikes, or heads . The perianth commonly consists of a calyx and corolla of 5 segments each. The androecium consists of commonly 1- many stamens (most commonly 10), distinct or variously united , sometimes some of them reduced to staminodes. The pistil is simple, often stipitate , comprising a single style and stigma, and a superior ovary with one locule containing 2-many marginal ovules. The fruit is usually a legume, sometimes a samara, loment, follicle, indehiscent pod, achene, drupe, or berry. The seeds often have a hard coat with hourglass-shaped cells , and sometimes bear a u-shaped line called a pleurogram. [Carr]
Subfamily Mimosoideae
Mostly trees or shrubs . Leaves mostly bipinnate. Corolla usually not showy, actinomorphic , sympetalous , the lobes valvate . Stamens 10-numerous, often monadelphous , showy. Pollen released in monads , tetrads , or polyads . Seeds with u-shaped line (pleurogram) present. [Carr]
Genus Acacia
Trees
, shrubs
, rarely herbs, often prickly or spinose
. Leaves bipinnate; leaflets
small and numerous
or leaves reduced to phyllodes; petiolar
glands
often present; stipules generally spinescent
. Inflorescence cylindric
spike or globose
head
; peduncle solitary axillary
or fasciculate or paniculate
at the end of branches; bracts often two, scale like, situated on the peduncle at various levels. Flowers small, 3-5-merous, bisexual
or plants
polygamous. Calyx campanulate
, dentate
, lobed
or polysepalous
. Petals usually more or less united
, rarely absent. Stamens indefinite, free
or shortly and irregularly connate
at the base
; anthers
small, eglandular
. Ovary sessile or stipitate
, with 2 or more ovules. Fruit ovate
to linear
, straight, arcuate
or contorted, membranous to woody, rarely articulated or moniliform
. Seed large, with a filiform
funicle
or fleshy
aril.
A genus with about 900 species; distributed mainly in tropics and subtropics, especially in Africa and Australia.[1]
Physical Description
Habit: Shrub , Tree • Climbing: Not Climbing
Habitat
Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 756 meters (0 to 2,480 feet).[2]
Biology
Reproduction
Duration: Perennial
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
)
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
)
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
)
- Sinnott, 1935 Ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
)
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
)
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Class:
Magnoliopsida
(
)
- Brongniart, 1843
- Dicotyledons
- Subclass:
Rosidae
(
)
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Fabanae
(
)
- R. Dahlgren Ex Reveal, 1993
- Order:
Fabales
(
)
- Bromhead, 1838
- Family:
Fabaceae
(
)
- Lindley, 1836
- Bean Family
- Subfamily:
Mimosoideae
(
)
- Subfamily:
Mimosoideae
(
- Family:
Fabaceae
(
- Order:
Fabales
(
- Superorder:
Fabanae
(
- Subclass:
Rosidae
(
- Class:
Magnoliopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Unambiguous Synonyms
- Acacia genistoides Benth.
- Racosperma tetragonophyllum (F. Muell.) Pedley
Misapplied Names
- Acacia sphacelata Auct. non Benth.
Notes
Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny:
Similar Species
Members of the genus Acacia
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 2783 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:
A. abbatiana · A. abbreviata · A. abietina · A. abrupta · A. abstergens · A. abyssinica (Nyanga Flat-Top) · A. abyssinica abyssinica · A. abyssinica calophylla · A. acanthaster · A. acanthocarpa · A. acanthoclada (Harrow Wattle) · A. acanthoclada acanthoclada · A. acanthoclada glaucescens · A. acanthoclada subsp. glaucescens · A. acanthoclada var. glaucescens (Harrow Wattle) · A. acantholoba · A. acanthophora · A. acanthophylla · A. acapulcensis · A. acatlensis · A. accola · A. acellerata · A. acicularis · A. acinacea (Round-Leaved Wattle) · A. acinacea 'Ruby Tips' · A. acinacea var. brevipedunculata · A. aciphylla · A. acoma · A. acradena · A. acradenia · A. acrionastes · A. acuaria · A. acuifera · A. aculeaticarpa (Catclaw Mimosa) · A. aculeatissima (Thin-Leaf Wattle) · A. aculeiformis · A. acuminata (Raspberry Jam) · A. acuminata acuminata (Raspberry Jam) · A. acuminata burkittii · A. acutangula · A. acutata · A. acutifolia · A. acutistipula · A. adansonii · A. adenanthera · A. adenantheroides · A. adenocalyx · A. adenocarpa · A. adenogonia · A. adenopa · A. adenophora · A. adenostylis · A. adhaerens · A. adherens · A. adiantoides · A. adinophylla · A. adnata · A. adoxa · A. adoxa var. adoxa · A. adoxa var. subglabra · A. adpressa · A. adstringens · A. adsurgens · A. adunca (Wallangarra Wattle) · A. aegyptiaca · A. aemula · A. aemula aemula · A. aemula muricata · A. aemula subsp. muricata · A. aestivalis · A. alata (Winged Wattle) · A. alata var. alata · A. alata var. biglandulosa · A. alata var. glabrata · A. alata var. platyptera · A. alata var. tetrantha · A. alaticaulis · A. alba · A. albescens · A. albicans · A. albicorticata (Espinillo Blanco) · A. albida · A. albizioides (Climbing Wattle) · A. albocorticata · A. alcockii · A. alemquerensis · A. alexandri · A. alleniana · A. allenii · A. alliacea · A. alocophylla · A. alpina (Alpine Wattle) · A. altiscandens · A. alvaroi · A. amabilis · A. amambayensis · A. amanda · A. amazonica · A. ambigua · A. amblygona (Fan Wattle)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- A dictionary of the flowering plants and ferns, by J. C. Willis. CambridgeThe University Press, 1919 ENG url p. 207.
- Carnegie Institution of Washington publication. Washington, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1902- ENG url p. 118, p. 123, p. 136, p. 61, p. 62, p. 79, p. 85, p. 86, p. 91.
- Just's botanischer jahresbericht. Systematisch geordnetes repertorium der botanischen literatur aller länder. Berlin, Gebr. Borntraeger, 1874-98; GER url p. 123.
Notes
Contributors
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed December 04, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 6 providers.
- ILDIS World Database of LegumesNov 10, 2005.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal December 04, 2007:
- Australian National Herbarium
- , Australian National Herbarium
- GBIF-Spain, Real Jardin Botanico
- , Vascular Plant Herbarium
- National Herbarium of New South Wales, NSW herbarium collection
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 1571288
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ILD-22984
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13629564
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:471647-1
- International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 81743-3
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 423447
Footnotes
- "Acacia". in Flora of Pakistan. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
- Mean = 252.680 meters (829.003 feet), Standard Deviation = 188.610 based on 288 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
