Acacia coriacea
Encyclopedia
Acacia coriacea, commonly known as river jam, wirewood, wiry wattle, or dogwood, is a tree
in the family Mimosoideae
of family Fabaceae
. It occurs throughout northern Australia
, growing as a tall tree on the banks of rivers. It also occurs as a spreading, low tree behind coastal dunes, on spinifex
plains and in woodlands in semi-arid regions.
River jam grows to a height of about eight metres. It usually has just one or two main trunks. Like most Acacia
species, it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. These are thick and leathery, between twenty and thirty centimetres long, and narrow. The flowers are yellow, and held in spherical clusters about five millimetres in diameter. The pods are usually curled up, but are around twenty centimetres long when straightened. They are greatly constricted between the seeds.
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
in the family Mimosoideae
Mimosoideae
Mimosoideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae characterized by flowers with small petals and numerous prominent stamens...
of family Fabaceae
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
. It occurs throughout northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, growing as a tall tree on the banks of rivers. It also occurs as a spreading, low tree behind coastal dunes, on spinifex
Spinifex (genus)
Spinifex is a genus of perennial coastal grasses. They are one of the most common plants that grow in sand dunes along the coasts of Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.. As they help stabilise the sand, these grasses are an important part of the entire sand dune ecosystem. Of the four species...
plains and in woodlands in semi-arid regions.
River jam grows to a height of about eight metres. It usually has just one or two main trunks. Like most Acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
species, it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. These are thick and leathery, between twenty and thirty centimetres long, and narrow. The flowers are yellow, and held in spherical clusters about five millimetres in diameter. The pods are usually curled up, but are around twenty centimetres long when straightened. They are greatly constricted between the seeds.
Varieties
- Acacia coriacea var. coriacea is a synonym for Acacia coriacea subsp. coriacea.
