| Acacia dealbata | |
|---|---|
| Foliage and flowers | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Genus: | Acacia |
| Species: | A. dealbata |
| Binomial name | |
| Acacia dealbata Link |
|
Acacia dealbata (known as Silver Wattle or Mimosa[1]) is a species of Acacia, native to southeastern Australia in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory.[2]
Contents |
It is a fast growing evergreen tree or shrub growing up to 30 m tall, typically a pioneer species after fire. The leaves are bipinnate, glaucous blue-green to silvery grey, 1–12 cm (occasionally to 17 cm) long and 1–11 cm broad, with 6–30 pairs of pinnae, each pinna divided into 10–68 pairs of leaflets; the leaflets are 0.7–6 mm long and 0.4–1 mm broad. The flowers are produced in large racemose inflorescences made up of numerous smaller globose bright yellow flowerheads of 13–42 individual flowers. The fruit is a flattened pod 2–11.5 cm long and 6–14 mm broad, containing several seeds.[1][3] Trees generally do not live longer than 30 to 40 years, after which in the wild they are succeeded by other species where bushfires are excluded. In moist mountain areas, a white lichen can almost cover the bark, which may contribute to the descriptor "silver".
There are two subspecies:[2]
Some authorities consider A. dealbata to be a variant of Acacia decurrens.[1]
Acacia dealbata is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in warm temperate regions of the world,[1] and is naturalised in some areas, including southwestern Western Australia, southeastern South Australia, Norfolk Island, the Mediterranean region, California,south-western China and Chile.[3][4][5][6] It does not survive prolonged frost.[1]
The timber is useful for furniture and indoor work, but has limited uses, mainly in craft furniture and turning. It has a honey colour, often with distinctive figures like birdseye and tiger stripes. It has a medium weight (540–720 kg/m³), and is similar to blackwood.
The flowers and tip shoots are harvested for use as cut flowers, when it is known by florist trade as "mimosa". In Italy, Russia and Georgia the flowers are also frequently given to women on International Women's Day. The essence of the flowers, called cassie or apopanax, is used in perfumes. The leaves are sometimes used in Indian chutney.[1]
In New Zealand the Department of Conservation class it as an environmental weed.[7] It has been analyzed as containing less than 0.02% alkaloids.[8]