Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Acacia baileyana
Common name
Cootamundra wattle, Golden mimosa
Family
Fabaceae
Where found
Dry forest, woodland, heath, grassy areas, and roadsides. Often on rocky sites and near streams. Native to the Temora–Cootamundra–Stockinbingal district.
Garden escape in most parts of the area covered by this key. Roadsides and invasive in woodland and grassland. Widespread.
Notes
Introduced (to most parts of the area covered by this key) tree or shrub to 10 m tall. Fleshy seed stalks/arils. Bark smooth. Branchlets cylindrical and ridged, angled towards the tips, more or less glaucous, hairy to hairless. Leaves alternating up the stems, 3-6.5 cm long, compound, rachis 0.3-4 cm long, hairy to hairless, prominent jugary glands present except between the lowermost 1 or 2 pairs of pinnae, interjugary glands absent. 2-12 pinnae, pinnae 1-3.5 cm long, each with 8-48 leaflets each 0.3-0.9 cm long, 0.7-1.6 mm wide, surfaces grey-green or bluish, hairy to hairless. Flower heads globular, yellow, 11-25 flowered (easiest seen in late buds), 3.5-8 mm in diameter, in elongated clusters of 8-36 flower heads. Flowers Winter to Summer.
Family was Mimosaceae.
Pest plant ACT.
Hybridises with Acacia dealbata (both subspecies) Acacia decurrens, Acacia oshanesii, and Acacia pubescens.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Acacia~baileyana (accessed 3 April, 2021)
World Wide Wattle line drawings, photos, and description: http://www.worldwidewattle.com/imagegallery/image.php?p=0&l=b&id=18285&o=1
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a free mobile application:
