Acacia brownii (Poir.) Steud.

Common Name and Growth Habit

Acacia brownii, commonly called heath wattle, is an erect or spreading shrub that typically reaches a height of 0.3 to 1 m (1 ft 0 in to 3 ft 3 in).

Branchlet Characteristics

It has branchlets that range from glabrous to sparsely hairy.

Phyllode Shape and Texture

Its phyllodes are more or less rigid, straight, and round or four-angled in cross-section, ending in a sharp point.

Phyllode Size and Features

The phyllodes measure 8–20 mm (0.31–0.79 in) long and up to approximately 1 mm (0.039 in) wide, with a distinct prominent midrib and awl-shaped stipules at their base.

Flower Head Arrangement

Flowers are arranged in spherical heads that grow in leaf axils, borne on a peduncle 4–15 mm (0.16–0.59 in) long.

Flower Head Size and Content

Each flower head is 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) in diameter and holds 12 to 30 bright yellow flowers.

Flowering Period

Flowering occurs between July and November.

Seed Pod Characteristics

The seed pods are more or less curved, flat, and leathery, measuring 15–80 mm (0.59–3.15 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide.

Similar Species

This wattle species resembles Acacia ulicifolia.

Acacia ulicifolia Traits

A. ulicifolia is a sprawling, semi-prostrate shrub less than 1 m (3 ft 3 in) high, with linear phyllodes 8–25 mm (0.31–0.98 in) long that have a pronounced midrib, stipules that often fall off as phyllodes mature, and flowers ranging from bright golden to deep golden.

Habitat

Heath wattle grows in sandy or clay loam in dry sclerophyll forest, woodland, or heath.

General Distribution

It is distributed across southern and eastern Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland in Australia.

Distribution Range Details

It occurs along the Great Dividing Range, from the Grampians region of Victoria in the south, through New South Wales, north to around Burra Burri in Queensland.