Acacia floribunda

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Gossamer wattle
Acacia floribunda CFGk365.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Acacia
Species:
A. floribunda
Binomial name
Acacia floribunda
Acacia-floribunda-range-map.png
Synonyms
  • Acacia angustifolia Lodd.
  • Acacia floribunda (Vent.) Willd. var. latifolia Benth.
  • Acacia intermedia Hook.
  • Acacia longifolia (Andrews) Willd. var. floribunda (Vent.)Benth.
  • Acacia longifolia (Andrews) Willd. var. floribunda (Vent.)F.Muell.
  • Acacia retinodes Schltdl. var. floribunda (Vent.)H.Vilm.
  • Mimosa floribunda Vent.
  • Phyllodoce floribunda (Vent.) Link
  • Racosperma floribundum (Vent.) Pedley [1]

Acacia floribunda is a perennial evergreen [2] shrub or tree. It is a species of wattle native to New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, but is cultivated extensively, and has naturalised in South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia, and also in Indonesia, Mauritius and northern New Zealand. Common names for it include gossamer wattle, weeping acacia and white sallow wattle. [1] It grows up to 6m in height, but there is a commercial form available which only grows to about 1m tall. Its cream-colored flowers occur in the early Spring (August to September in the southern hemisphere). [3]

Contents

Uses

In landscaping, Acacia floribunda is very useful for controlling erosion, especially in gullies. It is also useful as a hedge, [3] as a wind breaker, around bogs and ponds and as a shade tree. [4] It is sold frequently as an ornamental landscaping plant because it is fast-growing and it has many beautiful flowers. [5]

The tree is used for its nitrogen fixing properties by interspersing it with fruit trees. [6]

A. floribunda foliage has some use as fodder for livestock such as goats. [6]


Phytochemistry

The phyllodes, twigs and bark of this species contains the compound NN-Dimethyltryptamine (0.4-0.5%) and other substituted tryptamines. [7] These are components of the South American visionary medicine Ayahuasca.

Allergen

Some individuals are allergic to A. floribunda pollen. [8] About 1.2% of the population not closely exposed to the pollen are allergic, but 31% of floriculturists are allergic to it, seemingly because of their increased exposure. [9]

Cultivation

Acacia floribunda can be propagated from seed by treating the seeds in near-boiling water to penetrate the hard outer seed coating. Alternatively, the outer coatings of the seeds can be sanded down somewhat to allow water in. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Acacia cultriformis</i> Species of legume

Acacia cultriformis, known as the knife-leaf wattle, dogtooth wattle, half-moon wattle or golden-glow wattle, is a perennial tree or shrub of the genus Acacia native to Australia. It is widely cultivated, and has been found to have naturalised in Asia, Africa, North America, New Zealand and South America. A. cultriformis grows to a height of about 4 m (13 ft) and has triangle-shaped phyllodes. The yellow flowers appear from August to November in its natural range. Its attractive foliage and bright flowers make it a popular garden plant.

<i>Acacia pycnantha</i> Golden wattle of southeastern Australia

Acacia pycnantha, most commonly known as the golden wattle, is a tree of the family Fabaceae. It grows to a height of 8 metres and has phyllodes instead of true leaves. The profuse fragrant, golden flowers appear in late winter and spring, followed by long seed pods. Explorer Thomas Mitchell collected the type specimen, from which George Bentham wrote the species description in 1842. The species is native to southeastern Australia as an understorey plant in eucalyptus forest. Plants are cross-pollinated by several species of honeyeater and thornbill, which visit nectaries on the phyllodes and brush against flowers, transferring pollen between them.

<i>Acacia victoriae</i> Species of plant

Acacia victoriae, commonly known as gundabluie or bardi bush, is a shrub-like tree native to Australia. Subspecies: A. victoriae subsp. arida Pedley

<i>Acacia maidenii</i> Species of legume

Acacia maidenii, also known as Maiden's wattle, is a tree native to Australia. It has been introduced into India, and Argentina, and it grows on plantations in South Africa.

<i>Acacia melanoxylon</i> Species of legume

Acacia melanoxylon, commonly known as the Australian blackwood, is an Acacia species native to south-eastern Australia. The species is also known as blackwood, hickory, mudgerabah, Tasmanian blackwood, or blackwood acacia. The tree belongs to the Plurinerves section of Acacia and is one of the most wide-ranging tree species in eastern Australia and is quite variable mostly in the size and shape of the phyllodes.

<i>Acacia aulacocarpa</i> Species of legume

Acacia aulacocarpa, also known as New Guinea wattle or golden flowered salwood, is an Australian shrub or tree in the family Fabaceae. It is found in northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, Irian Jaya and parts of Indonesia.

<i>Acacia salicina</i> Species of plant

Acacia salicina is a thornless species of Acacia tree native to Australia.

<i>Acacia colei</i> Species of legume

Acacia colei is a perennial bush or tree native to northern Australia. A common name for it is Cole's wattle. Acacia colei blooms from May through September and the flowers are bright yellow.

<i>Acacia falcata</i> Species of legume

Acacia falcata, commonly known as sickle wattle and by other vernacular names including sally, is a perennial shrub or tree native to eastern Australia, which reaches five metres in height and has cream flowers in early winter. It gets its common and scientific name for its sickle-shaped leaves. Hardy and adaptable to cultivation, it is used in regeneration of bushland.

<i>Acacia longifolia</i> Species of plant

Acacia longifolia is a species of Acacia native to southeastern Australia, from the extreme southeast of Queensland, eastern New South Wales, eastern and southern Victoria, southeastern South Australia, and Tasmania. Common names for it include long-leaved wattle, acacia trinervis, aroma doble, golden wattle, coast wattle, sallow wattle and Sydney golden wattle. It is not listed as being a threatened species, and is considered invasive in Portugal, New Zealand and South Africa. In the southern region of Western Australia, it has become naturalised and has been classed as a weed by out-competing indigenous species. It is a tree that grows very quickly reaching 7–10 m in five to six years.

<i>Acacia penninervis</i> Species of legume

Acacia penninervis, commonly known as mountain hickory wattle, or blackwood, is a perennial shrub or tree is an Acacia belonging to subgenus Phyllodineae, that is native to eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia fimbriata</i> Species of legume

Acacia fimbriata, commonly known as the fringed wattle, Brisbane golden wattle, or just the Brisbane wattle, is a species of Acacia that is native to much of the east coast of Australia. It is one of the floral emblems of the city of Brisbane, Queensland.

<i>Acacia podalyriifolia</i> Species of legume

Acacia podalyriifolia is a perennial tree which is fast-growing and widely cultivated. It is native to Australia but is also naturalised in Malaysia, Africa, India and South America. Its uses include environmental management and it is also used as an ornamental tree. It is very closely related to Acacia uncifera. It grows to about 5 m in height and about the same in total width. It blooms during winter.

<i>Acacia neriifolia</i> Species of legume

Acacia neriifolia, also known as the oleander wattle, silver wattle or pechy wattle, is a tree in the genus Acacia native to north eastern Australia. It is common in the Moonbi Ranges.

<i>Acacia elata</i> Species of legume

Acacia elata, the cedar wattle or mountain cedar wattle, is a tree found in eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia concurrens</i> Species of legume

Acacia concurrens, commonly known as curracabah or black wattle, is a shrub native to Queensland in eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia leiocalyx</i> Species of legume

Acacia leiocalyx grows in Queensland, Australia and as far south as Sydney. It is widespread and common in eucalypt woodlands, especially on well-drained, shallow soils. It is short-lived and grows 6–7 metres (20–23 ft.) tall, with a trunk about 180 mm in diameter.

<i>Acacia flavescens</i> Species of legume

Acacia flavescens, also known as the red wattle, yellow wattle or primrose ball wattle, is a tree in the genus Acacia native to eastern Australia.

<i>Acacia cana</i> Species of legume

Acacia cana, or commonly named as boree or the cabbage-tree wattle or broad-leaved nealie, is part of the family Fabaceae and sub-family Mimosoideae. It is a dense shrub- tree that can grow to 6 metres (20 ft) high and is a perennial plant meaning it has long life span and doesn’t necessary produce a high amount of seed. The cabbage-tree wattle heavily flowers from August till October and relies on animals and insects for pollination and dispersal of seeds. This least concern acacia species is found in the western plains of New South Wales and Central Queensland the habitats of these areas are found to be sandy soils and gibber plains.

<i>Acacia rubida</i> Species of legume

Acacia rubida, commonly known as red stem wattle, red stemmed wattle or red leaved wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is native to parts of eastern Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 "Acacia floribunda - ILDIS LegumeWeb". www.ildis.org. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  2. Native Flora of the Southern Highlands Archived March 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  3. 1 2 3 Australian National Botanic Gardens
  4. Organic Matters
  5. Australian Acacias in the Garden
  6. 1 2 Gardening Australia Factsheet: Permaculture Paradise
  7. S. Voogelbriender, Garden Of Eden (2009); EGA leaflet (2023) - https://www.entheogenesis.org/ega-resources/reference-guide-for-common-wattles
  8. Akpinar-Elci M, Elci OC, Odabasi A (June 2004). "Work-related asthma-like symptoms among florists". Chest. 125 (6): 2336–9. doi:10.1378/chest.125.6.2336. PMID   15189959. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29.
  9. Ariano R, Panzani RC, Amedeo J (March 1991). "Pollen allergy to mimosa (Acacia floribunda) in a Mediterranean area: an occupational disease". Ann Allergy. 66 (3): 253–6. PMID   2006774.