Acacia shirleyi
Acacia shirleyi, commonly known as lancewood, is a tree native to Queensland and the Northern Territory in Australia. It grows up to about 15 metres tall with dark grey to black stringy bark and blue-grey foliage. The tree has an umbrella-like shape with a single trunk and bark that smells violet-like when cut.
Leaves are linear to slightly curved, about 10–15 cm long and 0.2–0.7 cm wide, with a blue-grey hue. It flowers from March to July, with yellow flower spikes 2–3.5 cm long. After flowering, it forms linear woody brown seed pods about 12 cm long containing black, elliptic seeds around 4–5.5 mm long.
Taxonomy: Described by Joseph Maiden in 1920. It was briefly reclassified as Racosperma shirleyi in 1987, then returned to Acacia in 2001.
Related species: Closely related to Acacia distans and Acacia catenulata, and resembles Acacia aneura. It can hybridize with Acacia rhodoxylon in parts of Queensland. The species name honors John Shirley.
Distribution and habitat: Found in temperate and semi-arid areas of north eastern Australia, mainly in Queensland and the Northern Territory, spanning about 1.4 million square kilometres. Common in dry scrub, open forest, and mixed savannah woodlands; not part of rainforest.
Uses: The wood is hard and dark brown with pale sapwood; historically used as fuel and to make hunting spears. The bark contains tannins and has been used as an internal astringent for diarrhoea and dysentery. Not good for fence posts because it tends to rot. Cattle can eat the leaves.
Cultivation: A hardy, drought-tolerant plant good for shelter or screening in sunny, well-drained soil. Tolerates light frost and shallow, slightly acidic soils. Seedlings grow slowly at first but can reach about 180 cm per year once established and may flower around 14 months old. Seeds require scarification before planting. It forms nodules with nitrogen-fixing bacteria on its roots.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:54 (CET).