?Australian Blackwood
Flowering twig of Acacia melanoxylon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Genus: Acacia Species: A. melanoxylon
Binomial name
Acacia melanoxylon F.Muell.
Synonyms
Racosperma melanoxylon Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1984x1488, 637 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Acacia List of Acacia species Australian Blackwood Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Divisions Green algae land plants (embryophytes) non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses vascular plants (tracheophytes) seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongue ferns seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class: this name is formed by replacing the termination -aceae in the name Magnoliaceae by the termination -opsida (Art 16 of the ICBN). ... Families Fabaceae (legumes) Quillajaceae Polygalaceae (milkwort family) Surianaceae The Fabales are an order of flowering plants, included in the rosid group of dicotyledons. ... Subfamilies Faboideae Caesalpinioideae Mimosoideae References GRIN-CA 2002-09-01 The name Fabaceae belongs to either of two families, depending on viewpoint. ... Species About 1,300; see List of Acacia species For Acacia Research Corporation, see Acacia Technologies. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Baron Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller (German: Müller) (June 30, 1825 - October 10, 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably botanist. ... In scientific classification, synonymy is the existence of multiple systematic names to label the same organism. ...

The Australian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) is an Acacia species native in eastern Australia. Known to some as Tasmanian blackwood, this tree grows fast and tall, up to 45 m height. It has a wide ecological tolerance, occurring over an extensive range of soils and climatic conditions, but develops better in colder climates. Control of its invasion of natural vegetation, commercial timber plantations and farmland in several host counties incur considerable costs, but its timber value and nursing of natural forest succession provides a positive contribution. Species About 1,300; see List of Acacia species For Acacia Research Corporation, see Acacia Technologies. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ...

Description

Unarmed, evergree tree 8-15 (sometimes up to 45) m high; trunk straight, crown dense and pyramidal to cylindrical, sometimes with heavy spreading branches. Leaves: Bipinnate (feathery) leaves on seedlings and coppice shoots turn into phyllodes. Phyllodes are 7-10 cm long, greyish turning dark dull-green, straight to slightly curved, with 3-7 prominent longitudinal veins and fine net-veins between; often bipinnate on young plants and coppice shoots. Flowers: Pale yellow, globular flower heads. Fruits: Reddish-brown pods, narrower than phyllodes, slightly constricted, twisted; flat roundish shiny black seeds 2-3 mm long, seeds almost encircled by pinkish-red seed stalks (aril)" (Henderson, 1995. In PIER, 2002). It has a shallow root system with dense, surface feeder roots. Phyllodes are modified petioles or leaf stems. ...

Reproduction

Seed dispersal: The pink-red aril attracts birds for dispersal of the seed. Once birds in host-countries become adapted to feeding on the pink-red aril around the seed, the seed is dispersed widely, as in South Africa. It is possible that in host countries where the species has not become invasive, birds and/or other frugivores were not forced by food shortages (as result of drought or other natural phenomena) to switch to this food source. Soil-stored seed banks develop that can remain viable for many years. Seeds germinate easily when placed in hot (boiling water) over night, or when soil-stored seeds are heated by the sun (in disturbed or exposed sites), or after fire (Hill, 1982). Acacia melanoxylon reproduces prolifically after fire. This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

Seed can be dispersed by the following methods

• Digestion/excretion: Birds (ingest small seeds with pink-red aril), Primates (ingest seeds with pods).
• For ornamental purposes (local): Nursery trade, Landscaping, Tree seed distributers.
• Garden escape/garden waste
• Road vehicles
• Water currents: Seeds with pods, floating vegetation/debris. (Geldenhuys, pers.comm. 2003)
• Wind

It can aslo multiply by vegetative methods, coppice shoots develop from cut and damaged stems, and from damaged roots.

Ecology and habitat

It is native to rainforests in Australia, from the Atherton Tableland (17°S) in Queensland above 500 m above sea level to central Tasmania (43°S) between sea level and 1000 m above sea level (Farell and Ashton, 1978; Jennings, 2002). In these areas, it occurs as an understorey tree in wet eucalypt forests, as a pioneer to co-dominant trees in riverine rainforest and as a dominant tree in blackwood/tea tree swamps in northwest Tasmania. It is best adapted to cooler moist sites. The Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia. ... The Atherton Tableland is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. ... Emblems: Faunal - Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus); Floral - Cooktown orchid (Dendrobium bigibbum); Bird - Brolga (Grus rubicunda); Aquatic - Barrier Reef Anemonefish (Amphiprion akindynos); Gem - Sapphire; Colour - Maroon Motto: Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Slogan or Nickname: Sunshine State, Smart State Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Government Const. ... Emblems: {{{Emblems}}} Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Slogan or Nickname: The Apple Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Const. ... Species About 600, see text Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of trees (rarely shrubs), the members of which dominate the tree flora of Australia. ... Categories: Geographical term stubs ... Tea tree or Ti Tree is a popular name that has been applied to a number of different, unrelated plants: Camellia sinensis, from which tea is obtained. ... A freshwater swamp This article is about the wetland type (a landform). ...

It tolerates drought, poor drainage, any soil, salt air, gusty, steady or cold winds if grown in open, fog, smog, temperature extremes, sun, or shade. Occurs in agricultural areas, coastland, disturbed areas, estuaries, natural forest, planted forests, range/grasslands, riparian zones, scrub/shrublands, urban areas, wetlands. Victorian London was notorious for its thick smogs, or pea-soupers, a fact that is often recreated to add an air of mystery to a period costume drama. ... A riparian zone schematic from the Everglades. ... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ...

This fast growing perennial tree is a [succession]]al species. It lives for 15 – 50 years, regularly producing large numbers of well-dispersed seeds. Seed viability is sufficiently long to bridge the time between successive seedling stages.

Invasive species

Replaces native non-tree vegetation, such as grassland and shrubland, and transforms such habitats. It invades the understorey of relatively open pine and eucalypt plantations. Tree stands facilitate the establishment of natural evergreen forest species and the development of regrowth forest. Windfalls obstruct water flow along invaded streams and rivers. Root suckering, it may require root barriers when planted for landscaping in built-up areas. Species About 115. ... Species About 600, see text Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of trees (rarely shrubs), the members of which dominate the tree flora of Australia. ... A Silver Fir shoot showing three successive years of retained leaves In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant which retains its leaves year-round, with each leaf persisting for more than 12 months. ... Windfall is an NBC television series. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Asexual reproduction. ...

It has been introduced to many countries for forestry plantings. It now is present in Africa, Asia, Europe, Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, South America and the United States. It is a declared noxious weed species in South Africa. This article is about unwanted plants. ...

Management

Preventative measures: In general, blackwood is either recognized as an invader species in some areas, or it does not invade in other areas (although its potential to invade is recognized), or its invasion status is not yet recognized. South Africa provides information on the management of areas where blackwood invasion has become a problem. In areas where blackwood is not yet an invasion problem or where the species is in an early stage of invasion, the following options could be followed:

• Be careful with the introduction of Acacia melanoxylon into natural areas or area where the species is not present because of the potential of the species to become invasive.
• Production of viable seed should be monitored.
• Seedling recruitment should be monitored in natural ecosystems and along drainage lines.

Plants in natural ecosystems should be removed before they flower and produce seed. An ecosystem, a contraction of ecological and system, refers to the collection of components and processes that comprise, and govern the behavior of, some defined subset of the biosphere. ...

References

Public Domain Information From:

• The IUCN/SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) (http://www.issg.org), Global Invesive Species Database: http://www.issg.org/database/welcome/,
• Related Disclaimer: http://www.issg.org/database/welcome/disclaimer.asp