Acacia falcata Willd.

Scientific Name

Acacia falcata Willd.

Description

Growth Form

Acacia falcata is an erect, slender shrub or tree that typically reaches a height of 2–5 m (6 ft 7 in – 16 ft 5 in).

Bark and Branchlets

It has smooth or finely fissured bark, and red-brown, glabrous branchlets that are often covered with a whitish bloom.

Phyllode Characteristics

Its phyllodes are sickle-shaped, broadest above the middle and narrowed at the base; they measure 70–190 mm (2.8–7.5 in) long and 10–40 mm (0.39–1.57 in) wide, are thin, and range in colour from greyish green to glaucous, with an excentric midrib.

Inflorescence Structure

Flowers are arranged in spherical heads held in racemes that are usually 20–60 mm (0.79–2.36 in) long, on a peduncle 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long.

Flower Details

Each head contains 15 to 20 creamy white flowers. Flowering occurs from April to August.

Seed Pod Features

The seed pods are linear, straight to slightly curved, up to 120 mm (4.7 in) long and 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) wide; they are firmly leathery, blackish, glabrous, and often covered with a thin powdery coating.

Seed Characteristics

The seeds are oblong to egg-shaped, 3.5–4.5 mm (0.14–0.18 in) long, black and somewhat shiny, with a club-shaped aril.

Distribution and habitat

Native Range

This wattle, also called Burra, is native to coastal regions and the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, ranging from Bundaberg, Herberton and Ingham in Queensland, south through eastern New South Wales to Narooma.

Habitat Preferences

It is common in the understorey of Eucalyptus communities, often growing in shallow, stony soil. It grows predominantly on shale soils in open forest, and is associated with tree species including Eucalyptus paniculata, E. longifolia and E. tereticornis.

Introduced Range

This species has been introduced to Java, Indonesia.

Ecology

Lifespan and Fire Response

In the wild, individual plants live for 5 to 20 years, and are killed by bushfire.

Seed Dynamics

Seeds are released in December, dispersed by wind, and stored in the soil. It remains unclear how closely germination is related to bushfire, and seeds can germinate in disturbed areas.

Faunal Associations

Acacia falcata is a host plant for the imperial hairstreak butterfly (Jalmenus evagoras). One field study recovered 98 species of Hemiptera (true bugs) from A. falcata across its native range.

Use in horticulture

Cultivation Adaptability

Acacia falcata adapts to a wide range of soils in cultivation, and is valued for its attractive foliage.

Propagation Method

It is propagated by seed, which requires pretreatment with boiling water to germinate.

Growing Requirements and Applications

It grows easily in a sunny position with good drainage, and is used for revegetation projects.

Indigenous and other uses

Traditional Medicinal Use

Indigenous Australian people use the bark of this species to make a liniment for treating skin ailments.

Erosion Control and Industrial Use

A. falcata is excellent for stabilizing barren sand. Its bark is important to the tanning industry.

Historical Naming and Uses

The 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that common names for this species include 'hickory' and 'sally', and that Indigenous Australians from the Cumberland and Camden areas of New South Wales referred to it as Weetjellan. The book also notes that "This bark, which contains much tannin, was used by the Aboriginals of the counties of Cumberland and Camden to stupefy fish, and to make embrocations for the cure of cutaneous diseases."