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Acacia dealbata, the silver wattle, blue wattle or mimosa, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to southeastern Australia and widely introduced in other warm climates.
Description
It is a fast-growing evergreen tree or shrub growing up to 30 metres (98 ft) tall, typically a pioneer species after fire. The leaves are bipinnate, glaucous blue-green to silvery grey, and the leaves resemble those of a fern. They are 1–12 centimetres (1⁄2–4+1⁄2 in), occasionally up to 17 cm, in length and 1–11 cm broad, with 6–30 pairs of pinnae. Each pinna is divided into 10–68 pairs of leaflets, which 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. 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.
Chemistry
A. dealbata has been analyzed as containing less than 0.02% alkaloids. It is known to contain enanthic (heptanoic) acid, palmic aldehyde, anisic acid, acetic acid, and phenols. The species is not known to be poisonous to humans or livestock.
Taxonomy
Along with other bipinnate wattles, A. 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.
Some authorities consider A. dealbata to be a variant of Acacia decurrens.
Etymology
The Latin specific epithet dealbata means "covered in a white powder". The Wiradjuri people of New South Wales use the name Giigandul for the species.
Subspecies
There are two subspecies:
- A. dealbata subsp. dealbata. Low to moderate altitudes. Tree to 30 m; leaves mostly 5–12 cm long.
- A. dealbata subsp. subalpina Tindale & Kodela. High altitudes in the Snowy Mountains. Shrub to 5 m (rarely 10 m) tall; leaves mostly 1.5–8.5 cm long.
Distribution and habitat
The species is 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.
Ecology
In moist mountain areas, a white lichen can almost cover the bark, which may contribute to the descriptor "silver".
As an invasive species
In the Western Cape of South Africa, the species is a Category 1 weed, requiring eradication; elsewhere in South Africa it is a Category 2 weed, requiring control outside of plantation areas. In New Zealand, the Department of Conservation classes it as an environmental weed. Since 2013, the species has been totally prohibited in Spain, except the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands. In Portugal, the species makes part of the official list of invasive species (along with other acacias). In California, the species is invasive and appears to displace many native species, also threatening the habitat of the endangered Mount Hermon June beetle.
Cultivation
Acacia dealbata is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in warm temperate regions of the world, 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, southern Africa (South Africa, Zimbabwe), the highlands of southern India, south-western China and Chile. It is hardy down to −5 °C (23 °F), but does not survive prolonged frost. 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.
Uses
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, Albania, Russia and Georgia the flowers are also frequently given to women on International Women's Day. The essence of the flowers, called 'mimosa', or in older texts, 'cassie', is used in perfumes. The leaves are sometimes used in Indian chutney.
In Australia, 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. 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 density (540–720 kg/m3), and is similar to its close relative blackwood, but of lighter tone without the dark heartwood.
In culture
Acacia dealbata is one of the most readily-available for use in Wattle Day celebrations or commercial bouquets. It is also one of a few Australian plant species symbolically commemorated in Japan, allegedly being the first plant to bloom in the aftermath of the Hiroshima atomic bomb in August 1945.
Gallery
See also
List of Acacia species
References