Acacia podalyriifolia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Fabales

Familia: Fabaceae
Subfamilia: Caesalpinioideae
Tribus: Acacieae
Genus: Acacia
Species: Acacia podalyriifolia
Name

Acacia podalyriifolia A.Cunn. ex G.Don, 1832
Synonyms

Acacia fraseri Hook.
Acacia podalyriifolia var. viridis Guilf.
Racosperma podalyriifolium (A.Cunn. ex G.Don) Pedley

Distribution
Native distribution areas:
Acacia podalyriifolia

Continental: Australasia
Regional: Australia
New South Wales, Queensland
Introduced into:
Assam, Bolivia, Brazil Southeast, Ethiopia, India, Jawa, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Malawi, Malaya, Mauritius, New Caledonia, Northern Provinces, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Réunion, South Australia, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Venezuela, Western Australia, Zimbabwe

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Cunningham, A., 1832. A General History of the Dichlamydeous Plants... London 2:405.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Acacia podalyriifolia in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2020 Aug 12. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Acacia podalyriifolia. Published online. Accessed: Aug 12 2019.
Tropicos.org 2019. Acacia podalyriifolia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 12 Aug 2019.
Catalogue of Life: 2021 Annual Checklist
Acacia podalyriifolia – Taxon details on World Wide Wattle.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Acacia podalyriifolia in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.

Vernacular names
English: Mt Morgan Wattle, Queensland Silver Wattle

Acacia podalyriifolia is a perennial tree which is fast-growing and widely cultivated. It is native to Australia but is also naturalised in Malaysia, Africa, India and South America. 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 5 m (16 feet) in height and about the same in total width.[2] It blooms during winter.
Acacia podalyriifolia foliage
Acacia podalyriifolia – MHNT

Common names for it are Mount Morgan wattle, Queensland silver wattle,[1] Queensland wattle, pearl acacia, pearl wattle and silver wattle.[3]

Description

The tall shrub or small tree typically reached a height and width of around 2 to 6 m (6 ft 7 in to 19 ft 8 in).[4] Like most species of Acacia it has phyllodes rather than true leaves.[5] It has grey coloured, smooth or finely fissured bark with terete and hairy branchlets that are often covered with a fine white powdery coating. The silver-grey to grey-green coloured phyllodes have a broadly elliptic to ovate shape and a length of 2 to 5 cm (0.79 to 1.97 in) and a width of 10 to 25 mm (0.39 to 0.98 in) and have hairs on margins and a prominent midvein. It blooms throughout they year producing simple inflorescences in groups of 8 to 22 along an axillary raceme with an axis length of 2 to 11 cm (0.79 to 4.33 in) with spherical flower-heads that have a diameter of 5 to 8 mm (0.20 to 0.31 in) and contain 15 to 30 bright golden flowers.[4]
Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist George Don in 1832 as part of the work General History of Dichlamydeous Plants. It was reclassified as Racosperma podalyriifolium by Leslie Pedley in 1987 then transferred back to genus Acacia in 2014. Other synonyms include Acacia podalyrifolia.[6]
Distribution

In Australia it is endemic to parts of south eastern Queensland[5] and the north east of New South Wales in areas to the north of Legume but has become naturalised further south[4] where it is found in open woodland or forest communities.[5] It has also become naturalised in Western Australia and South Australia.[3]

Outside of Australia, it is naturalized in southern and eastern Africa, in some parts of the Indian sub-continent and south-east Asia, on some Indian Ocean islands, in New Zealand, in Brazil, in Argentina, and in southwestern USA. Overall, it thrives in subtropical and tropical conditions and tolerates semiarid climates.[3]
As a weed

Being fast to spread, it is considered an environmental weed in New South Wales, Victoria, Southern Australia, and Western Australia.[3] It is relatively widespread in South Africa, where it is considered a "potential transformer" of natural vegetation due to the possibility of it replacing indigenous vegetation.[3]
See also

List of Acacia species

References

ILDIS LegumeWeb
Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants (ASGAP) Archived 12 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
"Acacia podalyriifolia (Queensland Silver Wattle)". Invasive weeds Keys and Fact Sheets. Lucid Central. 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
"Acacia podalyriifolia A.Cunn. ex G.Don". PlantNet. Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
"Acacia podalyriifolia". Australian Native Plants Society. August 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
"Acacia podalyriifolia A.Cunn. ex G.Don". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 25 July 2020.