Acacia oraria (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Acacia oraria F. Muell.

Family: Leguminosae - Mimosoideae

Synonyms

• Racosperma orarium (F. Muell.) Pedley.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: suli, kayu besi (Timor).

Distribution

Australia (east coast of Queensland), Indonesia (Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali and Nusa Tenggara): Alor, Flores, Timor).

Uses

Suitable for soil protection and as fire-break in savanna areas and for the control of Imperata cylindrica (L.) Raeuschel. The heavy and hard wood is locally used for house posts.

Observations

• Spreading tree up to 10 m tall, stem up to 50 cm in diameter, bark fibrous and fissured.
• Phyllodes alternate, thick, obovate-falcate, 4.5-11 cm × 1-4.5 cm, apex obtuse, base attenuate, with 3 prominent, longitudinal main veins.
• Inflorescence a globose head, 3-5 mm in diameter, arranged in axillary or terminal 3-5-branched racemes.
• Flowers yellow, 5-merous.
• Pod flat, twisted or coiled when fully mature, 12 cm × 1-1.5 cm, brown.
• Seed black with large red translucent funicle.

A. oraria often occurs along rivers and in coastal regions, up to 700 m altitude. It has been less successful in trials for fuelwood on poor soils in Java, and for weed control in teak plantations; its use has been restricted by its susceptibility to Corticium salmonicolor.

Selected sources

• Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr., R.C., 1963-1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Wolters-Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. 647, 641, 761 pp.
• Flora Malesiana (various editors), 1950-. Series 1. Volume 1, 4-. Kluwer, Dordrecht & Flora Malesiana Foundation, Leiden, the Netherlands.
• .Hart, H.M.J., 1931. Gemengde djaticulturen. deel II [Mixed teak plantations. part II]. Mededeelingen No 24. Proefstation voor het Boschwezen, Buitenzorg, Dutch East Indies. 400 pp.
• Kramer, F., 1925. Kultuurproeven met industrie-, konstruktie- en luxe-houtsoorten [Management trials on industrial, construction and luxury timber trees]. Mededeelingen No 12. Proefstation voor het Boschwezen, Buitenzorg, Dutch East Indies. 99 pp.
• Turnbull, J.W., 1986. Multipurpose Australian trees and shrubs. Lesser-known species for fuelwood and agroforestry. ACIAR Monograph No 1. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra, Australia. 316 pp.

Authors

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