Acacia confusa (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Acacia confusa Merrill

Family: Leguminosae - Mimosoideae

Synonyms

• Acacia richii auct., non A. Gray,
• Racosperma confusum (Merrill) Pedley.

Vernacular names

• Philippines: ayangili, ualisen (Sambali)
• Vietnam: cây dài loan tương tư.

Distribution

Native to Taiwan and northern Philippines (Luzon, not clear whether indigenous, cultivated or naturalized); also cultivated in Thailand, Indo-China, Malaysia, Java, Sumatra and occasionally elsewhere.

Uses

Grown as a green manure, shade tree and fodder crop.

Observations

• Tree, up to 10 m tall, trunk up to 1 m in diameter.
• Phyllodes alternate, linear-lanceolate, 6.5-10 cm × 5-9 mm, straight to slightly curved, usually with a hooked apex, leathery, glabrous, with 5 or more prominent, parallel veins.
• Inflorescence a globose head, 6-9 mm in diameter, single or paired in leaf axil.
• Flowers numerous, pentamerous, yellow.
• Pod flat, linear, 4-10 cm × 7-10 mm, with 7-8 seeds.

A. confusa is found on slopes and in dry forest at low altitudes. In Malaysia it is cultivated at 1000-1200 m altitude.

Selected sources

• Bisby, F., Polhill, R.M. & Zarucchi, J. (Database managers), 1994. International Legume Database Information Service 1994. ILDIS Coordination Centre, Biology Department, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
• Editorial Committee of the Flora of Taiwan (Editor), 1993--1994. Flora of Taiwan. 2nd Edition. Volumes 1 and 3. Epoch Publishing Company, Taipei, Taiwan. 648, 1084 pp.
• Flora Malesiana (various editors), 1950-. Series 1. Volume 1, 4-. Kluwer, Dordrecht & Flora Malesiana Foundation, Leiden, the Netherlands.
• Kamis Awang & Taylor, D.A. (Editors), 1993. Acacias for rural, industrial, and environmental development. Proceedings of the second meeting of the Consultative Group for Research and Development of Acacias (COGREDA) held in Udorn Thani, Thailand, February 15-18, 1993. Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Research & Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Bangkok, Thailand. 258 pp.
• Southon, I.W., Bisby, F.A., Buckingham, J. & Harborne, J.B., 1994. Phytochemical dictionary of the Leguminosae. 2 volumes. Chapman & Hall, London, United Kingdom. 1051, 573 pp.

Authors

• M.S.M. Sosef & L.J.G. van der Maesen