Acacia podalyriaefolia

General Plant Info

Acacia podalyriifolia is a perennial tree which is fast-growing and widely cultivated. Common names for it are Mount Morgan Wattle and Queensland Silver Wattle. 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 5m in height and about the same in total width. It blooms during winter.

Geographic distribution

It is native to Australia and is found in all states. It is also naturalised in Malaysia, Africa, India and South America.

Identification

It grows to about 5m in height and about the same in total width. Phyllodes are silver-grey, obliquely elliptical, to 4 cm, with felt-like texture. Flowers are golden ball-shaped blooming in late winter. Pods to 12 cm long, 1.5–2 cm wide, thinly coriaceous, velvety and pruinose when young, sometimes glabrous with age, dehiscing unilaterally; margins often undulate. Seeds longitudinal, oblong, 6–7.5 mm long, dull, black; aril clavate.

Alkaloid content

Tryptamine, NMT in the leaf (Trout's Notes) 0.5% to 1.8% DMT in fresh bark, phenethylamine trace amounts (Hegnauer 1994). This claim has not been replicated, all low yielding reports around the net.

Other uses

Its uses include environmental management and it is also used as an ornamental tree.

Cultivation

A hardy plant in most welldrained, sunny situations. Flowers well in mild climates. In Canberra flowers open over several weeks. Very subject to leaf miner in Sydney but not in Canberra.