Brigalow

Habitat type: Brigalow

Other key words: Brigalow woodlands, Acacia aneura, open woodlands

Description: Brigalow is both the name of a plant (Acacia harpophylla, a type of wattle), and the name of a vegetation type. Generally, the most prominent woody plants in mature brigalow vegetation are brigalow (Acacia harpophylla), which grow to a height of about 9 to 25 m tall. Other trees may include belah (Casuarina cristata), red bauhinia (Lysiphyllum carronii) and the Queensland bottle tree (Brachychiton rupestris). Tree canopy cover can vary from 20 – 80%. The ground layer (including grasses) is generally sparse.

Eucalypts (including poplar box (Eucalyptus populnea), Dawson gum (E. cambageana), and many other species) may also occur with brigalow and may form an open ‘emergent’ layer above the brigalow and/or belah canopy. Other wattles may also be present in the tree layer, including gidgee (Acacia cambagei), blackwood (A. argyrodendron), myall (A.pendula) and yarran (the common name for A. melvillei and A. omalophylla). The shrub layer often includes wilga (Geijera parviflora), false sandalwood (Eremophila mitchellii) and yellowwood (Terminalia oblongata), but can also include many other species.

Some animals that use this habitat type: Woma python, glossy black-cockatoo, little pied bat, collared delma, ornamental snake, yakka skink, Dunmall’s snake, painted honeyeater, black-breasted button-quail, bridled nail-tail wallaby, brigalow scaly-foot, golden-tailed gecko.