Jump to content
The Corroboree
Sign in to follow this  
Thelema

Stinking Wattle

Recommended Posts

Stinking Wattle

Gidgee

Acacia cambayei

apparantly this western wattle gives out a highly unpleasant noxious smell from the foliage when the air turns moist on approaching rains, or when rained upon, and it can be smelt from 50 metres away.

This gets me to thinking, skatol, indicative of a REALLY high presence of tryptamines in the leaves?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

the Acacias verticillata and oxcedrus found in Vic/SA/NSW also have these pungent phyllodes, no idea whats behind it though.

does anyone know of any data on tryptamines in the (not stinky) species A. doratoxylon, subtilinervis, mucronata + floribunda?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Heres is its finer data (great site BTW)

http://www.worldwidewattle.com/speciesgall...ry/cambagei.php

Acacia cambagei R.T.Baker, Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales 25: 661; pl. 42 (1901)

Gidgee , Gidyea , Gidya , Gidgea , Stinking Wattle

Malodorous, spreading tree 4–15 m high; crown moderately dense. Bark flaky, dark grey. Branchlets with a grey-white, often flaking, meally bloom, glabrous or appressed-puberulous. Phyllodes narrowly elliptic to linear-elliptic, narrowed at both ends, straight or recurved, 4–14 cm long, 3–15 mm wide, coriaceous, with surface features as on branchlets, 1–3 nerves more evident than the numerous closely parallel, indistinct intervening ones. Inflorescences 4–10 (–20)-headed racemes; raceme axes 2–9 (–30) mm long, appressed-puberulous; peduncles 4–10 mm long, sparsely appressed-puberulous; heads globular, 3–5 mm diam., 12–25-flowered, golden. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free to 1/2-united; petals glabrous to appressed-puberulous. Pods narrowly oblong, straight, flat, to 13 cm long, 8–12 mm wide, chartaceous, coarsely reticulate, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, broadly elliptic to oblong, flattened, 5–9 mm long, soft, peripherally crested, dull, dark brown; funicle slightly arillate.

Widespread in arid and semi-arid eastern Australia, extending from central N.T. and north-eastern S.A. into central Qld and north-western N.S.W. Tolerates a wide range of soils but occurs most commonly in dark cracking clay or loam, as scattered individuals or in dense, almost pure stands.

The phyllodes of young plants lack the characteristic mealy bloom and are rather conspicuously hairy.

Related to and perhaps only subspecifically distinct from A. georginae ; the two may be difficult to distinguish where their geographic ranges meet, fide L.Pedley, Austrobaileya 1: 200 (1978). The main morphological differences are that A. georginae has broader, curved to openly once-coiled pods, slightly larger seeds and generally more hairy petals. An important biochemical difference is that the foliage of A. georginae is highly toxic to livestock, whereas that of A. cambagei is used commonly as forage in some regions under drought conditions. The foetid odour of this species and A. georginae occurs also in A. pachycarpa . Also related to A. harpophylla .

The taxon described by B.R.Maslin (1981) in Fl. Central Australia p. 136 was based on mixed elements: the Lake Gregory (W.A.) material has now been described as A. maconochieana but the status of the N.T. and Qld entities require further study.

Type of accepted name

Bourke, N.S.W., May 1900, R.H.Cambage ; lecto: NSW, fide P.G.Kodela, Telopea 7: 420 (1998); see P.G.Kodela, loc. cit. , for discussion of type, including superfluous neotype.

Synonymy

Racosperma cambagei (R.T.Baker) Pedley, Austrobaileya 2: 346 (1987). Type: as for accepted name.

[ Acacia georginae auct. non F.M.Bailey: K.Domin, Biblioth. Bot. 89: 261 (1926)]

Illustrations

J.H.Maiden, Forest Fl. New South Wales 4: pl. 121 (1908); G.M.Cunningham et al. , Pl. W New South Wales 355 & 356 (1981); J.W.Turnbull (ed.), Multipurpose Austral. Trees & Shrubs 121 (1986); M.Simmons, Acacias Australia 2: 201 (1988); D.J.E.Whibley & D.E.Symon, Acacias S. Australia 2nd edn, 235 (1992); E.Anderson, Pl. Central Queensland 23 (1993).

Representative collections

N.T.: 62.3 km SE of Ranken, G.Chippendale NT7232 (NSW, PERTH). S.A.: Innamincka Stn, J.Vickery 2 (PERTH). Qld: c. 100 km NNW of Clermont, Adams 958 (K, PERTH); 32 km W of Adavale, L.Pedley 2492 (K, PERTH). N.S.W.: N of Bourke on road to Cunnamulla, J.G. & M.H.Simmons 1065 (NSW, PERTH).

(RSC)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That is a kick-arse site Rev!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×