Acacia excelsa
Benth.
Ironwood
(c) Russell Cumming, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Russell Cumming
(c) Mark Marathon, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
(c) Mark Marathon, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Seeds
The seeds are edible.
Known Hazards
How to Identify
A shrub or small tree. It grows 5 m tall. There are prickles along the stem. The leaves are twice divided and there are 8-18 pairs of pinnae. There are up to 50 pairs of pinnules on each pinnae. The flowers are yellow. They are in large clusters at the ends of branches. The pods are flattened.
How to Grow
Natural regeneration from seed is rapid if the young trees are protected from sheep. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria; these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby.
Propagation: The seed of most, if not all, members of this genus has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing to speed up germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Acacia seeds that have matured fully on the bush and have been properly dried have a hard seed coat and can be stored in closed containers without deterioration for 5 - 10 years or more in dry conditions at ambient temperatures. It is best to remove the aril, which attracts weevils and can lead to moulds forming. The arils are easilyremoved by placing the seeds in water and rubbing them between the hands, then drying the seeds and winnowing them.
Medicinal Uses
The bark of this species, like all Acacias, contain appreciable amounts of tannins and are astringent and can be used for medical purposes including for the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery when used internally or used to treat wounds, haemorrhoids or some eye problems when used externally. The trees can also produce gum from the stems which is also taken internally to treat haemorrhoids and diarrhoea. The wood produced by the tree is close-grained, very tough and hard and elastic and is suitable for cabinet-work and instrument fretboards. It was used by Indigenous Australian peoples to make boomerangs and spearthrowers.
Other Uses
The wood is hard, close-grained, and very tough and elastic. It possesses great beauty for cabinet-work, and has the odour of violets. A stable hard and dark timber new to the market. It is likely to be very suited to instrument fretboards. The wood is also used by Aboriginal to make spearthrowers and boomerans.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Acacia excelsa, also known as ironwood, rosewood, doodlallie or bunkerman and as dhan, gayan or gan in the Gamilaraay language, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the north-east of Australia. It is a tree, often with a weeping habit, glabrous branchlets, with narrowly elliptic phyllodes, spherical heads of creamy-white to pale or bright yellow flowers and linear, firmly papery to crusty pods.
Names & Synonyms
Dhan-gayan-gan
References (3)
- Hunter, J. T. et al, Budjiti traditional use of plants on Naree Station. p 3
- Hunter, J.T., 2017, Is there a relationship between contemporary high Aboriginal plant resource locations and mapped vegetation communities? Cunninghamia 17:27-34. The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. ISSN 2200 - 405X
- McKerney, M. & White, H., 2011, Bush Tucker, Boomerangs & Bandages. Border River-Gwyder Catchment Management Authority p 49
