Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Acacia dealbata

Flowering stem. (subsp. subalpina). Photographer Don Wood, Tantawangalo State Forest west of Candelo

Flowering stems. (subsp. subalpina) (water stressed). Photographer Don Wood, Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, ACT

Shrub (subsp. subalpina). Photographer Dusty, Goorooyaroo Nature Reserve, ACT

Flowering stem. (subsp. dealbata). Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Barmah Forest, Vic

Pods and leaves (subsp. dealbata). Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Scottsdale Bush Heritage Reserve near Bredbo

Trunk. Photographer Jackie Miles

Line drawings. b. inflorescence and leaf; c. leaflet (both surfaces) M Moir, National Herbarium of Victoria, © 2021 Royal Botanic Gardens Board

Common name

Silver wattle, Blue wattle, Mimosa, Monaro silver wattle, Small-leaved silver wattle

Family

Fabaceae

Where found

Dry forest, woodland, grassy areas, along streams, and wet gullies. Ranges, tablelands, ACT, the mountains to the west, Kosciuszko National Park, and Western Slopes.

Subsp. subalpina usually at higher altitudes than subsp. dealbata.. Also naturalised in Sydney and Gosford.

Notes

Shrub or tree to 30 m tall. Fleshy seed stalks/arils. Bark smooth, deeply corrugated or fissured when old. Branches sometimes weeping. Branchlets angled towards the tips, with a waxy bloom, hairy, ridged. Leaves alternating up the stems, compound, bluish grey to silvery or sometimes green. Rachis 1.5-17 cm long, hairy, mostly with 1gland on the leaf stalk at the base of the first pair of pinnae (sometimes absent); more or less round jugary glands present (sometimes missing from the basal pair of pinnae), interjugary glands absent, 8-60 pinnae, 0.5-5 cm long, each with 20-136 leaflets each 0.07-0.6 cm long, 0.4-1 mm wide, hairy mainly on the margins and the lower surface. Young leaves whitish yellow. Flower heads yellow, globular, 4-7.5 mm in diameter, 13-42 flowered. Flower heads in many-flowered clusters. Flowers Winter to Spring.

Family was Mimosaceae.

All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.

Both subspecies hybridise with Acacia baileyana, Acacia decurrens, and Acacia parramattensis..

subsp. dealbata:  Shrub or tree to 30 m tall. Leaves 3-17 cm long, with 20-60 pinnae, mostly 1.5-5 cm long, each with 28-136 leaflets each 0.15-0.6 cm long, 0.4-1 mm wide. Flower heads 22-42 flowered.

World Wide Wattle line drawings and photos:  http://worldwidewattle.com/imagegallery/image.php?p=0&l=d&id=19920&o=1

subsp. subalpina:  Shrub or tree to 10 m tall. Leaves mostly 1.5-8.5 cm long, with 8-44 pinnae, each 0.5-3 cm long, each with 20-74 leaflets each 0.07-0.4 cm long, less than 1 mm wide.  Flower heads 13-34 flowered.

Data deficient Vic..

World Wide Wattle line drawings and photos:  http://worldwidewattle.com/imagegallery/image.php?p=0&l=d&id=23625&o=1 

PlantNET description of species and key to subspecies:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Acacia~dealbata  (accessed 29 April 2021)