Acacia implexa

Family Fabaceae

Hickory Wattle

Tall shrub to about 6 m high, with phyllodes 7–18 cm long. Regrowth and juvenile foliage is bipinnate. May spread vegetatively by root suckers following death of main stem. Longevity indefinite.

Flowers: Pale yellow–white heads, 30–50-flowered, 4–8 on extended axillary inflorescence, during January – February.

Fruit: Pod 10–20 cm long. Seeds released at maturity.

Seed: Hard-coated, black, ellipsoid 3.5 x 3 mm in size with cream coloured aril (food body possible ant dispersal mechanism). Has physical seed dormancy. Germinates readily after scarification.

Gallery images: seed, seedling, rootstock, resprout

 Ecology

• Woodland habitat, mid shade to full sun.
• Occasional in woodland at the Australian Botanic Garden.
• Defoliated at night by bagmoths which shelter ar base during the day, often resulting in death of the stem.
• Fire kills the stems but the plants resprout from base or root suckers.
• Legumes reported to have nitrogen-fixing Rhizobium nodules on roots.