Queensland Silver Wattle

Appearance

"Acacia podalyriifolia" is a tall shrub or small tree that typically reaches a height and width of around 2 to 6 m. Like most species of "Acacia", it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. It has grey, 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 phyllodes have a broadly elliptic to ovate shape and a length of 2 to 5 cm and a width of 10 to 25 mm. They have hairs on margins and a prominent midvein. "A. podalyriifolia" blooms throughout the year producing simple inflorescences in groups of 8 to 22 along an axillary raceme with an axis length of 2 to 11 cm. The spherical flower heads have a diameter of 5 to 8 mm and contain 15 to 30 bright golden flowers.

Naming

Common names for it are Mount Morgan wattle, Queensland silver wattle, Queensland wattle, pearl acacia, pearl wattle and silver wattle.

Distribution

In Australia it is endemic to parts of southeastern Queensland and the northeast of New South Wales in areas to the north of Legume, but has become naturalised further south, where it is found in open woodland or forest communities. It has also become naturalized in Western Australia and South Australia.

Outside of Australia, it is naturalized in southern and eastern Africa, some parts of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, on some Indian Ocean islands, in New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, and southwestern USA. Overall, it thrives in subtropical and tropical conditions and tolerates semiarid climates.