Acacia dealbata

Last updated

Acacia dealbata
Acacia dealbata-1.jpg
Foliage and flowers
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. dealbata
Binomial name
Acacia dealbata
Acacia dealbataDistMap260.png
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms
  • Acacia decurrens var. dealbata (Link) Muller
  • Acacia decurrens var. mollis Lindl.
  • Acacia puberula Dehnh.
  • Acacia derwentii Siebert & Voss
  • Acacia decurrens var. dealbata (Link) Maiden
  • Acacia affinis Sweet
  • Racosperma dealbatum (Link) Pedley [2]
New growth New growth on Acacia dealbata.jpg
New growth

Acacia dealbata, the silver wattle, blue wattle [3] or mimosa, [4] 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. [5]

Contents

Description

In autumn in the UK with flower buds visible Acacia Dealbata Mimosa.jpg
In autumn in the UK with flower buds visible

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, and the leaves resemble that of a fern. 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. [3] [6] 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".[ citation needed ] The Latin specific epithet dealbata also means "covered in a white powder". [7] The Wiradjuri people of New South Wales use the name Giigandul for the species. [8]

Chemistry

It has been analyzed as containing less than 0.02% alkaloids. [9] It is known to contain enanthic (heptanoic) acid, palmic aldehyde, anisic acid, acetic acid, and phenols. [10] [ unreliable source? ]

Taxonomy

Along with other bipinnate wattles, Acacia dealbata 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 many species were unable to be resolved. Acacia dealbata appears to be most closely related to A. mearnsii , A. nanodealbata and A. baileyana . [11]

Some authorities consider A. dealbata to be a variant of Acacia decurrens . [3]

Subspecies

There are two subspecies: [12]

Cultivation

'Kambah Karpet', a cultivar discovered at the Kambah Village Kambah Karpet Acacia dealbata.JPG
'Kambah Karpet', a cultivar discovered at the Kambah Village

Acacia dealbata is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in warm temperate regions of the world, [3] and is naturalised in some areas, including Sochi (Black Sea coast of Russia), southwestern Western Australia, southeastern South Australia, Norfolk Island, the Mediterranean region from Portugal to Greece and Morocco to Israel, Yalta (Crimea, Ukraine), California, Madagascar, [13] southern Africa (South Africa, Zimbabwe), the highlands of southern India, [5] south-western China and Chile. [6] [14] [15] [16] [17] It is hardy down to −5 °C (23 °F), [18] but does not survive prolonged frost. [3] It prefers a sheltered position in full sun, with acid or neutral soil. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [18] [19]

Mimosa

The flowers and tip shoots are harvested for use as cut flowers, when it is known by the florist trade as "mimosa" (not to be confused with the genus of plants called Mimosa ). In Italy, [20] Albania, Russia and Georgia the flowers are also frequently given to women on International Women's Day.[ citation needed ] The essence of the flowers, called 'mimosa', or in older texts, 'cassie', is used in perfumes. [21]

Other uses

The Ngunnawal people of the ACT and Wiradjuri people of NSW used the bark to make coarse rope and string, the resinous sap for glue or to mix with ash to make poultices, the timber for tools, and the seeds to make flour. [22] [8] 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 its close relative blackwood, but of lighter tone without the dark heartwood.[ citation needed ]

The leaves are sometimes used in Indian chutney. [3]

Invasive species

In South Africa, the species is a Category 1 weed in the Western Cape (requiring eradication) and Category 2 weed (requiring control outside plantation areas) elsewhere. [23] In New Zealand the Department of Conservation class it as an environmental weed. [24] In Spain, due to its colonizing potential and constituting a serious threat to native species, habitats or ecosystems, this species has been included in the Spanish Catalog of Invasive Exotic Species, regulated by Royal Decree 630/2013, of 2 of August, being prohibited in Spain, except the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, its introduction into the natural environment, possession, transport, traffic and commerce. [25] In Portugal, the species makes part of the official list of invasive species (along with other Acacia species). [26] In California, the species is invasive and appears to displace many native species, also threatening the habitat of the endangered Mount Hermon June beetle. [27] [28]

See also

List of Acacia species

Related Research Articles

<i>Acacia sensu lato</i> Genus of legumes

Acacia s.l., known commonly as mimosa, acacia, thorntree or wattle, is a polyphyletic genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. It was described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773 based on the African species Acacia nilotica. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not. All species are pod-bearing, with sap and leaves often bearing large amounts of tannins and condensed tannins that historically found use as pharmaceuticals and preservatives.

<i>Mimosa</i> Genus of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae

Mimosa is a genus of about 590 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word μῖμος (mimos), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -osa, "resembling", suggesting its 'sensitive leaves' which seem to 'mimic conscious life'.

<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 native to southeastern Australia. It grows to a height of 8 m (26 ft) and has phyllodes instead of true leaves. Sickle-shaped, these are between 9 and 15 cm long, and 1–3.5 cm wide. The profuse fragrant, golden flowers appear in late winter and spring, followed by long seed pods. 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. An understorey plant in eucalyptus forest, it is found from southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, through Victoria and into southeastern South Australia.

<i>Albizia julibrissin</i> Species of plant

Albizia julibrissin, the Persian silk tree, pink silk tree, or mimosa tree, is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, native to southwestern Asia and eastern Asia.

<i>Vachellia farnesiana</i> Species of plant

Vachellia farnesiana, also known as Acacia farnesiana, and previously Mimosa farnesiana, commonly known as sweet acacia, huisache, or needle bush, is a species of shrub or small tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. Its flowers are used in the perfume industry.

<i>Acacia pulchella</i> Species of shrub

Acacia pulchella, commonly known as prickly moses or western prickly moses, is a shrub in the family Fabaceae. Endemic to Western Australia, it is one of the most common shrubs of the bushland around Perth and in the Darling Range.

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

Acacia melanoxylon, commonly known as the Australian blackwood, is an Acacia species native in 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>Mimosa pigra</i> Species of plant

Mimosa pigra, commonly known as the giant sensitive tree, is a species of plant of the genus Mimosa, in the family Fabaceae.

<i>Acacia mearnsii</i> Species of flowering plant

Acacia mearnsii, commonly known as black wattle, late black wattle or green wattle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is usually an erect tree with smooth bark, bipinnate leaves and spherical heads of fragrant pale yellow or cream-coloured flowers followed by black to reddish brown pods. In some other parts of the world, it is regarded as an invasive species.

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

Acacia implexa, commonly known as lightwood or hickory wattle, is a fast-growing Australian tree, the timber of which is used for furniture making. The wood is prized for its finish and strength. The foliage was used to make pulp and dye cloth.

<i>Vachellia nilotica</i> Species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae

Vachellia nilotica, more commonly known as Acacia nilotica, and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. It is also considered a 'weed of national significance' and an invasive species of concern in Australia, as well as a noxious weed by the federal government of the United States.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

<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 retinodes</i> Species of legume

Acacia retinodes is an evergreen shrub that is native to South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Short racemes of yellow flowers are produced periodically throughout the year. Some common names are Retinodes water wattle, swamp wattle, wirilda, ever-blooming wattle and silver wattle.

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

Acacia paradoxa is a plant in the family Fabaceae. Its common names include kangaroo acacia, kangaroo thorn, prickly wattle, hedge wattle and paradox acacia.

<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 attenuata</i> Shrub belonging to the genus Acacia

Acacia attenuata is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae. It is native to an area in south eastern Queensland. It was listed as a vulnerable species in 2009 according to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

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

Acacia ulicifolia, commonly known as prickly Moses or juniper wattle is a shrub of the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae, native to Australia.

References

  1. ↑ "Acacia dealbata". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government . Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  2. ↑ «Acacia dealbata» EOL. Consulted on 21 November 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gualtiero Simonetti (1990). Stanley Schuler (ed.). Simon & Schuster's Guide to Herbs and Spices . Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN   978-0-671-73489-3.
  4. ↑ "Acacia dealbata". RHS. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  5. 1 2 Kull, Christian A.; Shackleton, Charlie M.; Cunningham, Peter J.; Ducatillon, Catherine; Dufour-Dror, Jean-Marc; Esler, Karen J.; Friday, James B.; Gouveia, António C.; Griffin, A. R.; Marchante, Elizabete; Midgley, Stephen J.; Pauchard, Aníbal; Rangan, Haripriya; Richardson, David M.; Rinaudo, Tony; Tassin, Jacques; Urgenson, Lauren S.; von Maltitz, Graham P.; Zenni, Rafael D.; Zylstra, Matthew J. (2011). "Adoption, use and perception of Australian acacias around the world". Diversity and Distributions. 17 (5): 822–836. doi: 10.1111/j.1472-4642.2011.00783.x .
  6. 1 2 Flora of Australia Online: Acacia dealbata Archived 2021-05-02 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for Gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN   978-1845337315.
  8. 1 2 Williams, Alice; Sides, Tim, eds. (2008). Wiradjuri Plant Use in the Murrumbidgee Catchment. Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Authority. p. 19. ISBN   978-0-7347-5856-9.
  9. ↑ Chemotaxonomie der Pflanzen By Robert Hegnauer
  10. ↑ Mimosa Essential Oil
  11. ↑ Brown, Gillian K.; Ariati, Siti R.; Murphy, Daniel J.; Miller, Joseph T. H.; Ladiges, Pauline Y. (1991). "Bipinnate acacias (Acacia subg. Phyllodineae sect. Botrycephalae) of eastern Australia are polyphyletic based on DNA sequence data". Australian Systematic Botany. 19 (4): 315–26. doi:10.1071/SB05039.
  12. ↑ "Acacia dealbata Link". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  13. ↑ Kull, Christian A. (2007). "Multifunctional, Scrubby, and Invasive Forests?". Mountain Research and Development. 27 (3): 224–231. doi: 10.1659/mrd.0864 . S2CID   106404585.
  14. ↑ Michail Belov: , Chileflora. Consulted 2010, September 22.
  15. ↑ Flora Europaea: Acacia dealbata
  16. ↑ Jepson Flora: Acacia dealbata
  17. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-27. Retrieved 2013-05-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Kull, Christian A.; Rangan, Haripriya (2008). "Acacia exchanges: Wattles, thorn trees, and the study of plant movements". Geoforum. 39 (3): 1258–1272. doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2007.09.009.
  18. 1 2 "Acacia dealbata". www.rhs.org. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  19. ↑ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). www.rhs.org. Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 1. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  20. ↑ "8 Marzo, festa della donna: ecco perché si regala la mimosa". ANSA. 2015-03-06.
  21. ↑ Vosnaki, Elena. "Mimosa". Fragrantica. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  22. ↑ Ngunnawal Elders (2014) 'Ngunnawal Plant Use.' ACT Government: Canberra
  23. ↑ Invasive Species South Africa
  24. ↑ Howell, Clayson (May 2008). Consolidated list of environmental weeds in New Zealand (PDF). DRDS292. Wellington: Department of Conservation. ISBN   978-0-478-14413-0. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-05-30. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  25. ↑ Real Decreto 630/2013, de 2 de agosto, por el que se regula el Catálogo español de especies exóticas invasoras. Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  26. ↑ "Decreto-Lei 92/2019, 2019-07-10". Diário da República Eletrónico (in Portuguese).
  27. ↑ DiTomaso, J. M.; Bell, C. E.; Wilen, C. A. (June 2017). "Invasive Plants". Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. Pest Notes. Davis, California: University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. UC ANR Publication 74139. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  28. ↑ DiTomaso, Joseph M.; Williams, Andrea (2007). "Acacia dealbata Plant Assessment Form". Berkeley, California: California Invasive Plant Council . Retrieved 2021-06-09.
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