| Stiff leaf wattle | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Caesalpinioideae |
| Clade: | Mimosoid clade |
| Genus: | Acacia |
| Species: | A. obtusifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Acacia obtusifolia | |
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| Range of Acacia obtusifolia | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
Acacia obtusifolia, commonly known as stiff-leaf wattle or blunt-leaf wattle, is a perennial tree in subfamily Mimosoideae of family Fabaceae.
Acacia obtusifolia is an upright or spreading perennial tree, which grows from 1.5m to 8m in height and is native to the east coast of Australia It is closely related to Acacia longifolia . A. obtusifolia can be distinguished by having phyllode margins which are resinous, usually blooming later in the year and with paler flowers than A. longifolia. [2] It flowers usually from December through February. Some populations of A. obtusifolia can survive winters to −6 °C and possibly a light snow; however, plants from populations in areas that are frost-free such as the coastal ranges of Northern NSW are susceptible to cold and will be killed by frosts lower than −3 °C. These populations avoid the valley floors and occur mainly on sandstone ridges well above the frost line.
Teracacidin, a flavan-3,4-diol, can be isolated from A. obtusifolia heartwood. [3]
It was found to contain tryptamines by an underground researcher in 1992 [4] . Despite the lack of formal scientific publishing of its phytochemistry, several chromatographs show 0.3% alkaloid consisting of 2:1 N-Methyltryptamine, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), plus trace betacarbolines, [5] while another found gramine. It is highly variable in composition, sometimes devoid of tryptamines. There have also been findings of 5-MeO-DMT, DMT and bufotenine. [6] Some internet sources claim a 0.45% average dimethyltryptamine in the bark and 0.3% in the dried young leaves. Similarly, late 90s internet researchers have figures ranging from 0.4% to 0.5% in the dried material, noting there to be some variability. [7]
There is evidence now that population numbers of mature trees have been greatly reduced due to ecological damage by people seeking tryptamines, which has become a threat to the species [8] .
