Downy 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. pubescens |
Binomial name | |
Acacia pubescens | |
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Occurrence data from AVH | |
Synonyms | |
Racosperma pubescens (Vent.) Pedley |
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.
Acacia pubescens grows as a shrub to small tree anywhere from 1 to 5 m (3 to 20 ft) high. The smooth bark is grey-brown in colour, and the branches can have a slightly drooping or weeping habit. Like all wattles, the downy wattle has leaf-like structures known as phyllodes which are compound (pinnate) and measure 1.5–6.5 cm (0.59–2.56 in) in length with 3 to 12 pairs of smaller "leaves" or pinnae, each 0.5–2.5 cm (0.20–0.98 in) long, and themselves composite - composed of 5 to 20 pairs of pinnules.
Arranged in racemes, the globular yellow flowers appear from late winter to spring (August to October), [2] peaking in September. Each flower head contains 12 to 20 flowers. Flowering is followed by the development of 3–7 cm long seed pods, which ripen over October to December. [3]
French botanist Étienne Pierre Ventenat described the downy wattle in 1803, in his Jardin de la Malmaison as Mimosa pubescens. [4] It had been grown at the Château de Malmaison in the garden of the Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais. [5] Robert Brown gave it its current name in 1813 in Hortus Kewensis. [6] Common names include downy wattle and hairy-stemmed wattle. [6] Derived from the Latin pubescens "hairy", the species name relates to the hairy stems. [2] English botanist George Bentham classified A. pubescens in the series Botrycephalae in his 1864 Flora Australiensis . [7] Queensland botanist Les Pedley reclassified the species as Racosperma pubescens in 2003, when he proposed placing almost all Australian members of the genus into the new genus Racosperma . [8] However, this name is treated as a synonym of its original name.
Along with other bipinnate wattles, it is classified in the section Botrycephalae within the subgenus Phyllodineae in the genus Acacia. An analysis of genomic and chloroplast DNA along with morphological characters found that the section is polyphyletic, though the close relationships of it and many other species were unable to be resolved. [9]
Hybrids with Cootamundra wattle ( Acacia baileyana ) and West Wyalong wattle ( A. cardiophylla ) have been reported. [2]
Endemic to New South Wales, Acacia pubescens is restricted to the Sydney Basin, where it is found in scattered populations from Bardwell Valley to Oakdale and Mountain Lagoon. Most plants are located around Bankstown, Fairfield and Rookwood in southwestern Sydney, and Pitt Town in the city's northwest. [10] Most of its habitat has vanished with the spread of housing in Sydney's suburbs, [5] and it is classified as "Vulnerable". [1] It is found on clay soils and associated plant communities—alluvial- and shale-based soils. It grows in open sclerophyll forest, associated with such species as grey box ( Eucalyptus moluccana ), broad-leaved ironbark ( E. fibrosa ), white feather honeymyrtle ( Melaleuca decora ), and blackthorn ( Bursaria spinosa ). [3]
Acacia pubescens plants are thought to live up to 50 years in the wild. [3] They are able to resprout after bushfires from root suckers. [3]
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.
Acacia, commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus name is Neo-Latin, borrowed from the Greek ἀκακία, a term used by Dioscorides for a preparation extracted from the leaves and fruit pods of Vachellia nilotica, the original type of the genus. In his Pinax (1623), Gaspard Bauhin mentioned the Greek ἀκακία from Dioscorides as the origin of the Latin name.
Acacia dealbata, the silver wattle, blue wattle or mimosa, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, native to southeastern Australia in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory, and widely introduced in Mediterranean, warm temperate, and highland tropical landscapes.
Acacia parramattensis, commonly known as Parramatta wattle, is a tree of the family Fabaceae native to the Blue Mountains and surrounding regions of New South Wales. It is a tall shrub or tree to about 15 m (49 ft) in height with phyllodes instead of true leaves. These are finely divided bipinnate. The yellow flowers appear over summer. It generally grows in woodland or dry sclerophyll forest on alluvial or shale-based soils, generally with some clay content.
Acacia decurrens, commonly known as black wattle or early green wattle, is a perennial tree or shrub native to eastern New South Wales, including Sydney, the Greater Blue Mountains Area, the Hunter Region, and south west to the Australian Capital Territory. It grows to a height of 2–15 m (7–50 ft) and it flowers from July to September.
Acacia restiacea is a species of Acacia belonging to the sub genus Alatae which is native to Western Australia.
Acacia plicata is a species of wattle which is endemic to an area between Perth and Geraldton in Western Australia.
Acacia stenoptera, commonly known as narrow-winged wattle, is a species of wattle that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.
Acacia bynoeana, known colloquially as Bynoe's wattle or tiny wattle, is a species of Acacia native to eastern Australia. It is listed as endangered in New South Wales and as vulnerable according to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Acacia fulva, known colloquially as velvet wattle or soft wattle, is a species of Acacia native to eastern Australia.
Acacia continua, or the thorn wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Alatae. It native to New South Wales and South Australia.
Acacia amblygona, commonly known as fan wattle or fan leaf wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is native to Australia.
Acacia dermatophylla is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to southern parts of Western Australia.
Acacia gregorii, commonly known as Gregory's wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae native to Western Australia.
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.
Acacia melleodora, commonly known as scented wax wattle, waxy wattle, honey wattle or honey scented wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to arid parts of central Australia.
Acacia synchronicia, commonly known as bardi bush, is a shrub or tree of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae endemic to Australia.
Acacia simsii is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia in the family Fabaceae. It is native to New Guinea and northern Australia. In Australia it is found in both the Northern Territory and Queensland.
Acacia brachybotrya, commonly known as grey mulga or grey wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to Australia.
Acacia leichhardtii, commonly known as Leichhardt's wattle, is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to north eastern Australia.