Acacia auriculiformis, commonly known as earleaf acacia, earpod wattle, auri (in the Philippines), karuvel (in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) and aakashmani (in West Bengal), is a fast-growing, crooked, gnarly tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Australia, Philippines, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It grows up to 30 m tall. Acacia auriculiformis has about 47000 /kg.

Identification

Acacia auriculiformis is an evergreen tree that grows between to 15–30 m tall, with a trunk as high as 12 m and 50 cm in diameter. The trunk is crooked and the bark vertically fissured. Roots are shallow and spreading. It has dense foliage with an open, spreading crown. Leaves 10–16 cm long and 1.5–2.5 cm wide with 3–8 parallel nerves, thick, leathery and curved. Flowers are 8 cm long and in pairs, creamy yellow and sweet scented. Pods are about 6.5 x 1.5 cm, flat, cartilaginous, glaucous, transversely veined with undulate margins. They are initially straight but on maturity become twisted with irregular spirals. Seeds are transversely held in the pod, broadly ovate to elliptical, about 4–6 mm x 3–4 mm (0.16-0.24 in x 0.12-0.16 in). At Kozhikode (Kerala, India), flocks of jungle crow (large-billed crow, Corvus macrorhynchos), grey-headed myna (chestnut-tailed starling, Sturnia malabarica) and red-whiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) have been observed to feed on the seeds with the aril, which is exposed when the pods are split. These birds also probably help in dispersal of seeds. The generic name Acacia comes from the Greek word akis meaning a point or a barb and the specific epithet comes from the Latin auricula- external ear of animals and forma- form, figure or shape, alluding to the shape of the pod. Local names on the subcontinent: Telugu: Minnumaanu (మిన్నుమాను), Kondamanu (కొండ మాను), Seema Babul (సీమ బాబుల్), Maha Babul (మహా బాబుల్); Bengali: Akaashmoni; Tamil: Karuvel, Thai: กระถินณรงค์

Uses

This plant is raised as an ornamental plant, as a shade tree and it is also raised on plantations for fuelwood throughout southeast Asia, Oceania and in Sudan. Its wood is good for making paper, furniture and tools. It contains tannin useful in animal hide tanning. In India, its wood and charcoal are widely used for fuel. Gum from the tree is sold commercially, but it is said not to be as useful as gum arabic. In Thailand the small fresh leaves are eaten, often with nam prik chili sauce or papaya salad. The tree is used to make an analgesic by indigenous Australians. Extracts of Acacia auriculiformis heartwood inhibit fungi that attack wood. Aqueous extracts of A. auriculiformis show developmental inhibitory effects on Bactrocera cucurbitae (the melon fly). Functional uses Products Services Pests and diseases In Indonesia, growth rate has been impaired by a rust fungus, Uromyces digitatus; in India, root rot caused by a fungus (Ganoderma lucidum) has been reported. A beetle (Sinoxylon spp.) can girdle young stems and branches, causing them to break. The insect is of concern, because the tree will develop multiple leaders if the main stem is damaged and the length of the bole will be reduced. Nambiar and Harwood 2014 find severe disease losses in plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia. This is serious enough to require resistance breeding be a high priority in Acacia breeding.