Cape York salwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cape York salwood |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Acacia
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| Species: |
midgleyi
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
The Cape York salwood (scientific name: Acacia midgleyi) is a type of tree that belongs to the large Acacia family, also known as wattle trees. This tree is found only in the northern part of Australia, specifically in an area called the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.
What Does the Cape York Salwood Look Like?
This tree usually grows to be quite tall, from about 8 to 25 meters (26 to 82 feet) high. It often has a single main trunk, but sometimes it might split into a few stems close to the ground. Some of its trunks can grow very wide, up to 90 centimeters (about 3 feet) across!
Unlike many trees, the Cape York salwood doesn't have typical leaves. Instead, it has special flattened stems called phyllodes. These phyllodes are smooth and can be green or a milky-green color. They are shaped like a sickle or a half-moon. Each phyllode is about 8 to 16.5 centimeters (3 to 6.5 inches) long and 0.8 to 4.2 centimeters (0.3 to 1.6 inches) wide. They have many thin lines, called nerves, running along them that are very close together.
When the tree flowers, it produces small groups of flower-spikes. These spikes are shaped like cylinders and are 3 to 7 centimeters (1 to 2.7 inches) long. The flowers themselves are cream, pale yellow, or even lemon yellow. They are packed together loosely on the spikes.
After the flowers, the tree forms seed pods. These pods are sticky and have a hard, crusty surface. They are long and narrow, like a rectangle, and can be flat or twisted into one to three spirals. The pods are usually 5 to 12 centimeters (2 to 4.7 inches) long and 1 to 2.5 centimeters (0.4 to 1 inch) wide. Inside, the seeds are arranged sideways. The seeds are shiny black and can be oval, egg-shaped, or wider at one end. They are about 4 to 7 millimeters (0.15 to 0.27 inches) long and 2 to 4 millimeters (0.08 to 0.15 inches) wide. Each seed has a creamy-grey or greyish attachment called an aril, which is often folded many times.
Where Does the Cape York Salwood Grow?
The Cape York salwood is special because it is endemic to a specific area. This means it grows naturally only in one place in the world. For this tree, that place is Queensland, in the northern part of the Cape York Peninsula in Australia. It's quite common there!
You can find these trees from the Coleman River in the south all the way up to the areas where the Wenlock River and Olive Rivers begin in the north. They mostly live along river banks and in areas where water flows seasonally (like during the wet season). These trees are usually found as part of the amazing rainforest communities on the eastern side of the Peninsula.
