Acacia phlebophylla

Alkaloid content

0.3% DMT in leaf, NMT (Rovelli & Vaughan 1967 ref Trout's Notes)

Extraction

DONT extract from live plant, plant under threat. Phyllodes that have been shed remain active for very long, only harvest from phyllodes that are on the ground.

Conservation

• Care must be taken with this species as it consists of one population or metapopulation which has been ravaged over the years by bush fires and fungal infections. Acacia phlebophylla is listed as rare and threatened by the Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment. There is significant concern for the viability of this population, particularly with the threat of fungal pathogens and other disturbances. (A particular species of local wasp may be associated with the transmission of this fungal pathogen.)

• Looking/walking amongst them from stand to stand has been strongly advised against, due to the risk of spreading the fungal pathogen which at the moment is their greatest threat.

• Though there are many accounts of bountiful regrowth, this species should not be used for the extraction of drugs for conservation reasons. Attempts at ex-situ cultivation have been mostly unsuccessful and have usually resulted in plants dying at 3 years. If cultivation is successful, it is important that plants are allowed to mature and produce seeds for eventual rehabilitation rather than used for tryptamine production.

• Healthy plants exist in private gardens near Gatton, Qld, as well as in Ireland, indicating the plant is not as recalcitrant in cultivation or restricted to its alpine environment as was once thought.