Bowgada
Encyclopedia
Acacia ramulosa var. linophylla, commonly known as bowgada, wanderry mulga, horse mulga or sometimes wanyu, is a tree
in the family
Fabaceae
. Widespread on loose red sand throughout south central Western Australia
, it also occurs sporadically in South Australia
.
Bowgada grows as a spreading shrub or low tree, up to four metres long and often wider than it is high. Like most Acacia
species, it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. These are greyish green in colour, round in cross-section, and held almost vertically; they may be up to thirteen centimetres long and two millimetres in diameter. The flowers are yellow, and held in cylindrical clusters about two centimetres long. The pods are thick and woody, up to ten centimetres long and one centimetre wide, with deep fissures along their length.
Bowgada was formally named Acacia linophylla until 2001, when it was recognised as a variety of Acacia ramulosa.
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Fabaceae
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
. Widespread on loose red sand throughout south central Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, it also occurs sporadically in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
.
Bowgada grows as a spreading shrub or low tree, up to four metres long and often wider than it is high. Like most Acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
species, it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. These are greyish green in colour, round in cross-section, and held almost vertically; they may be up to thirteen centimetres long and two millimetres in diameter. The flowers are yellow, and held in cylindrical clusters about two centimetres long. The pods are thick and woody, up to ten centimetres long and one centimetre wide, with deep fissures along their length.
Bowgada was formally named Acacia linophylla until 2001, when it was recognised as a variety of Acacia ramulosa.