Acacia longifolia

Scientific name: Acacia longifolia Wild.subspecies longifolia

Author: Henry Charles Andrews (fl. 1794-1830), Carl Ludwig von Willdenow (1765-1812)

Common name: Sallow Wattle, Long-leaved Wattle, Sydney Golden Wattle

Family: Fabaceae-Mimosoideae

Location  

Near the American Woodland section and beside the Darug Aboriginal Story sign for Emery and Cogi’s Line.

Clothing either side of Bells Line of Road as you come up from Berambing; surrounding a seepage area in the North American Woodland section of the Garden and standing  as sentinels either side of the Darug Aboriginal Story sign for Emery and Cogi’s Line are Sydney Golden Wattles, Acacia longifolia subspecies longifolia.

Flowering June to October this shrub to small tree grows in sclerophyll communities, usually on sandstone, basalt-derived soils and granite-derived soils; south of Kempsey and Torrington districts in New South Wales and into Victoria. It has been introduced into Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. New South Wales Flora Vol. 2 p. 417.

On the one hand the hardiness of this plant, its ability to colonise disturbed areas and to bind soil has endeared it to landscapers, horticulturists and gardeners. Category 1 weed status has been its achievement in South Africa; common wetland weed status in southern Western Australia and the list goes on.

As National Tree Day, Arbor Day and National Wattle Day approach, perhaps we have 'an opportunity for all Australians to celebrate our floral heritage, particularly through the planting of an Acacia species suitable for the area in which they live'.