Acacia cultriformis

Last updated

Knife-leaf wattle
Acaciacultriformis.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. cultriformis
Binomial name
Acacia cultriformis
Acacia-cultriformis-range-map2.png
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms
  • Acacia cultriformis G.Don var. albicans Chopinet
  • Acacia cultriformis G.Don var. glaucescensChopinet
  • Acacia glaucifolia Meissner
  • Acacia glaucophylla F. Cels
  • Acacia papuliformis Loudon
  • Acacia scapuliformisG.Don
  • Racosperma cultriforme(G Don) [1]

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. [1] 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.

Contents

Taxonomy

Scottish botanist George Don described Acacia cultriformis in 1832, [2] calling it the cultriform-leaved acacia. [3] The species name relates to the knife-shaped phyllodes. [4]

Queensland botanist Les Pedley reclassified the species as Racosperma cultriforme in 2003, in his proposal to reclassify almost all Australian members of the genus into the new genus Racosperma; [5] this name is treated as a synonym of its original name however. [2]

Common names include knife-leaf (or -leaved) wattle, golden glow wattle, half-moon wattle or dog-tooth wattle. [2]

Description

Triangle-shaped leaves Acacia cultriformis Montjuic.jpg
Triangle-shaped leaves

Acacia cultriformis is a woody shrub with an upright or spreading habit that grows to 4 m (13 ft) in height. Branchlets may be bare and smooth or covered with a white bloom. [4] The mature trees do not have true leaves but have phyllodes that are crowded along the stems. The green to green-grey phyllodes are asymmetrical, with one leaf margin angled so the overall shape is triangular. They are 1–3 cm long by 0.6–1.5 cm wide. [6] There is a nectary at the widest part of the phyllode. [4] Flowering takes place from August to November, [4] and can be prolific on upper parts of the plant. [6] The rounded inflorescences are bright yellow and occur in groups of 2 to 25 in axillary 1–8 cm-long racemes. The later developing pods are straight or slightly curved, 3 to 10 cm long and 0.4 to 0.75 cm wide. They are flattish, with raised segments over the seeds. [4] The oblong seeds themselves are 3.5 to 4.5 mm long, black and shiny, with a clavate (club-shaped) aril. [6]

The related Acacia semilunata is similar in appearance but has hairy branchlets and narrower seed pods. [6] Acacia pravissima can look similar but has a secondary longitudinal vein in its phyllodes. [6]

Distribution and habitat

Acacia cultriformis is found in central New South Wales and southern Queensland on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range, from Wagga Wagga and Narrandera northwards, and west of Denman and Singleton, [4] to Stanthorpe and Inglewood. [6] It grows in clay-loam or sandstone soils in Eucalyptus woodland, [6] often on rocky ridges. [7]

Uses and cultivation

Its bright flowers and attractive leaves make Acacia cultriformis one of the most popular wattles in cultivation. Adaptable to the garden, it is grown in a wide range of soils and can tolerate frosts. It grows in sun or part shade. [8] Drought tolerant, it can be used to combat soil erosion. [7] Acacia 'Cascade' (RN: ACC154) is a prostrate form that spreads to a diameter of 2 m (7 ft). It was registered on 18 November 1982, having been propagated by Bill Molyneux at his nursery in Montrose, Victoria from a selected seedling. [9] It makes an attractive cascading plant in a rockery. [8]

A. cultriformis is used as cut flowers. [10] The flowers are edible and they are an ingredient used in some fritters. [11] [12] Yellow dye is extracted from the flowers and green dye is extracted from the seed pods. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

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

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

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

Acacia complanata, known as long-pod wattle and flat-stemmed wattle, is a perennial tree native to eastern Australia.

<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, and southeastern South Australia. 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 pendula</i> Species of legume

Acacia pendula, commonly known as the weeping myall, true myall, myall, silver-leaf boree, boree, and nilyah, is a species of wattle, which is native to Australia. The 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that common names included "Weeping Myall", "True Myall", and Indigenous people of western areas of New South Wales and Queensland referred to the plant as "Boree" and "Balaar".

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

Acacia verticillata is a perennial shrub to small tree native to south eastern Australia.

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

Acacia pravissima, commonly known as Ovens wattle, Oven wattle, wedge-leaved wattle and Tumut wattle, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is an evergreen shrub native to Victoria, the South West Slopes and Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, 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 flexifolia</i> Species of legume

Acacia flexifolia, commonly known as bent-leaf wattle or small winter wattle, is a shrub species that is endemic to eastern Australia.

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

Acacia cognata, commonly known as bower wattle, river wattle or narrow-leaved bower wattle, is a tree or shrub species that is endemic to south eastern Australia.

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

Acacia pubescens, also known as the downy wattle, is a species of wattle found in the Sydney Basin in eastern New South Wales. The downy wattle is classified as vulnerable; much of its habitat has vanished with the growth of the city of Sydney. As with all wattles, it has compound (pinnate) leaf stems.

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

Acacia hispidula, known colloquially as little harsh acacia, rough-leaved acacia or rough hairy wattle, is a species of Acacia native to eastern Australia.

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

Acacia jibberdingensis, also known as Jibberding wattle or willow-leafed wattle, is a shrub or tree belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae that is endemic to Western Australia.

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

Acacia iteaphylla, commonly known as Flinders Range wattle, Port Lincoln wattle, winter wattle and willow-leaved wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to South Australia.

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

Acacia strongylophylla, commonly known as round-leaf wattle, is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae endemic to central Australia.

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

Acacia conferta, commonly known as crowded-leaf wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to eastern Australia.

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

Acacia falciformis, also commonly known as broad-leaved hickory, hickory wattle, mountain hickory, large-leaf wattle, tanning wattle and black wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to eastern Australia

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

Acacia pilligaensis, commonly known as Pillaga wattle or pinbush wattle, is a tree or shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae native to eastern Australia.

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

Acacia sertiformis, commonly known as curly-leaved wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae native to north eastern Australia.

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

Acacia microcarpa, commonly known as manna wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae endemic to south eastern Australia.

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

Acacia elongata, also known as swamp wattle or slender wattle, is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Plurinerves that is endemic to coastal areas of eastern Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 "Acacia cultriformis – ILDIS LegumeWeb". ildis.org. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "Acacia cultriformis". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  3. ↑ Don, George (1832). A General History of Dichlamydeous Plants. Vol. 2. London: J.G. and F. Rivington. p. 406.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Harden, Gwen J. (1990). "Acacia parramattensis Tindale". Plantnet – New South Wales Flora Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  5. ↑ Pedley, Les (2003). "A synopsis of Racosperma C.Mart. (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae)". Austrobaileya. 6 (3): 445–96.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kodela, P.G. (2001). "Acacia". In Wilson, Annette; Orchard, Anthony E. (eds.). Flora of Australia . Vol. 11A, 11B, Part 1: Mimosaceae, Acacia. CSIRO Publishing / Australian Biological Resources Study. pp. 336–38. ISBN   978-0-643-06718-9.
  7. 1 2 Elliot, Rodger W.; Jones, David L.; Blake, Trevor (1985). Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation: Vol. 2. Port Melbourne, Victoria: Lothian Press. p. 37. ISBN   978-0-85091-143-5.
  8. 1 2 Walters, Brian (February 2012). "Acacia cultriformis". Plant Guides. Australian Native Plants Society (Australia). Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  9. ↑ Australian Cultivar Registration Authority (2009). "Acacia 'Cascade'". Descriptions of Registered Cultivars. Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  10. ↑ Australian Plants as Cut Flowers Archived 18 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ "Knife-Leaf Wattle (Acacia cultriformis)". garden.org. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  12. ↑ Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch (12 September 2013). "Acacia Flower Fritters Recipe". thedailymeal.com. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  13. ↑ "Acacia cultriformis – Plants for a Future database report". pfaf.org. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.