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blue wattle, silver wattle

knife acacia, knife-leaf wattle

Habit Shrubs or trees, erect, to 30 m. Twigs dark purplish brown to black, slightly flexuous, ridged, pruinose, densely puberulent. Shrubs, erect, to 4 m. Twigs bluish to purplish, not flexuous, ridged, glabrous.
Leaves

compound, 80–170 mm;

petiole 8–22 mm, densely puberulent, gland present, below proximalmost pinna pair, 0.5–1 mm diam., puberulent;

rachis gland between most pinna pairs;

pinnae 6–30 pairs, 15–55 mm, 2–7 mm between pinna pairs;

leaflets 15–70 pairs per pinna, blades linear, 2–5 × 0.4–0.8 mm, base cuneate, apex obtuse to acute, not apiculate, surfaces densely puberulent.

phyllodic;

phyllode flat, one side nearly straight, the other rounded or angled, inequilateral, often deltate to triangular, 10–30 × 5–15 mm, venation parallel, midvein prominent, minor veins not obvious, apex acute, apiculate, surfaces glabrous;

gland 1, prominent, near widest part of leaf;

pulvinus 0.3–1 mm.

Inflorescences

globose heads, densely flowered, 6–9 mm diam., in axillary pseudoracemes of 11–30 heads or terminal pseudopanicles of 1–15 pseudoracemes.

globose to slightly elongated heads, densely flowered, 3–7 mm, in pseudoracemes of 5–20 heads, usually solitary in distal leaf axils.

Peduncles

2–6 mm.

2–5 mm.

Flowers

5-merous, pale yellow to cream;

calyx 0.6–1.1 mm;

corolla 1.4–2 mm;

filaments 3.5–4.5 mm;

ovary glabrous.

5-merous, golden yellow;

calyx 0.5–0.9 mm;

corolla 1.3–1.8 mm;

filaments 2.7–3.5 mm;

ovary glabrous.

Legumes

flattened, oblong, 20–110 × 6–14 mm, constricted between some seeds.

flattened, linear, 40–90 × 5–8 mm, slightly constricted between some seeds.

Seeds

aril light yellow, obovate, 2–3 mm, forming cap on seed.

aril white, club-shaped, from base.

2n

= 26.

Acacia dealbata

Acacia cultriformis

Phenology Flowering winter, early spring. Flowering winter–summer.
Habitat Disturbed areas. Disturbed areas.
Elevation 0–300 m. (0–1000 ft.) 0–150 m. (0–500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; se Australia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in s South America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; e Australia [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Acacia dealbata is known from Butte, Los Angeles, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Riverside, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Acacia cultriformis is known from Los Angeles, Marin, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Caesalpinioideae (Mimosoid clade) > Acacia Fabaceae > subfam. Caesalpinioideae (Mimosoid clade) > Acacia
Sibling taxa
A. auriculiformis, A. baileyana, A. cultriformis, A. cyclops, A. decurrens, A. longifolia, A. mearnsii, A. melanoxylon, A. paradoxa, A. pycnantha, A. redolens, A. retinodes, A. saligna, A. verticillata
A. auriculiformis, A. baileyana, A. cyclops, A. dealbata, A. decurrens, A. longifolia, A. mearnsii, A. melanoxylon, A. paradoxa, A. pycnantha, A. redolens, A. retinodes, A. saligna, A. verticillata
Name authority Link: Enum. Hort. Berol. Alt. 2: 445. (1822) A. Cunningham ex G. Don: Gen. Hist. 2: 406. (1832)
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