Talk:Rosewood, Queensland

Latest comment: 10 years ago by Kerry Raymond in topic What's the botanical name for the Rosewood?

What's the botanical name for the Rosewood?

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Queensland Place Names says the town is named after the plant Acacia harpophylla. However, there is no evidence that anyone calls the Acacia harpophylla a "rosewood". An anonymous editor tried to change the botanic name to Tipuana tipu which is a tree known as a Rosewood that grows in Queensland as an exotic weed. However, there is no citation that links the town's name to this exotic weed, so I felt I had to revert the edit, as at least we have the QPN citation (which is somewhat authoratative) to support the link to the Acacia harpophylla, but I agree with the anonymous editor that there's something a bit dubious here. Can anyone help? Thanks. Kerry (talk) 07:19, 17 January 2014 (UTC)Reply

I have found this "NOMENCLATURE OF QUEENSLAND—253". The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954). Brisbane, Qld.: National Library of Australia. 22 July 1936. p. 14. Retrieved 17 January 2014. which confirms that the town was named after a locally-growing rosewood tree, but not what the botanic name of the tree is. But I think it unlikely that an exotic species took hold prior to the area being given a name. One would expect weeds to follow settlement rather than precede it.Kerry (talk) 07:23, 17 January 2014 (UTC)Reply
This brochure says it is named after the rose mahogany trees that were felled in the area. Rose mahogany in Queensland is Dysoxylum fraserianum according to this. Kerry (talk) 07:33, 17 January 2014 (UTC)Reply