Acacia tetragonophylla
Acacia tetragonophylla
Acacia tetragonophylla, and curare, Kurara or English: called Dead Finish, a plant of the legume family is ( Fabaceae ). It is widespread in Australia.
- 5.1 Notes and references
Description
Vegetative characteristics
Acacia tetragonophylla grows as a large shrub or small tree that usually reaches stature heights of 2 to 5 feet. The branches are often confused rampant. The bark of the branches is bald.
The needle-like "leaves" are botanically phyllodes. The phyllodes usually sit for two to six in groups ( clusters ) of stubby side branches or individually on young branches. The phyllodes are at a length of usually 1 to 5 cm and a width of about 1 mm linear - subulate, pentagonal to flattened in cross-section, said upper end terminating in a stiff, thin, bald, 1-2 mm long piercing tip. The phyllodes have five or seven highly rare sublime nerves and are furrowed when they are dry. Initially, the phyllodes are still soft and pliable, later they are hard, stiff and very sharp.
Generative features
In the axils of each one to five individually inflorescences sit on 1-3 cm long, bare Blütenstandsschäften. 50 to 90 flowers are borne in globular inflorescences. The hermaphroditic, golden-yellow flowers are fünfzählig. The free sepals are linear - spatulate.
The bare, almost woody to leathery legume is curved with a length of up to 10 cm and a width of 4 to 6 mm to open one and a half times screwed and often they twist along the seams. The legume is beyond the seed and easy to markedly constricted between them. The seeds are longitudinal elliptical with a length of 4 to 5.5 mm. The light yellow funiculus circles the seeds.
Occurrence
The wide area of distribution of Australian Acacia tetragonophylla include northwestern and north - central New South Wales, Northern Territory, southern, southwestern Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Acacia tetragonophylla thrives on flood plains and along watercourses in arid and semi-arid areas.
System
The first description of Acacia tetragonophylla in 1859 by Ferdinand von Mueller in Contributiones ad Acaciarum Australiae cognitionem. Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Botany, Volume 3, p.121 The specific epithet tetragonophylla is composed of the Greek words tetra- for four, gonia for edge and phullo, phullon for leaf, leaves together. Synonyms for Acacia tetragonophylla F.Muell. are Acacia genistoides A.Cunn. ex Benth., Racosperma tetragonophyllum ( F.Muell. ) Pedley.
Acacia tetragonophylla belongs to the subgenus Phyllodineae in the genus Acacia.
Ethnobotany
Acacia tetragonophylla is used for the treatment of warts. A plurality of needle-shaped leaves are pierced into the wart, the peaks remain, and the remainder of the needle is terminated. After four or five days the wart has shrunk and may be removed.