Acacia redolens Maslin

Taxon Identity

Acacia redolens Maslin is a dense, small to medium-sized spreading fragrant shrub.

Growth Habit and Size

It typically grows 0.5 to 3 meters (2 to 10 ft) tall, rarely reaching heights of up to 5 or even 7 meters.

Scent Characteristics

Vegetative parts of the plant, and especially its yellow flowers, produce an intense vanilla scent.

Native Flowering Period

In its native range, it blooms from August to October and produces yellow flowers.

Introduced Range Flowering Period

In California, it blooms from February through May (late winter to late spring).

Flower Morphology and Arrangement

The small flowers, whose visual appearance comes from yellow stamens, are borne in leaf axils.

Fruit Characteristics

The brownish legumes produced by the shrub are approximately 25 millimeters long and 6 millimeters wide.

Native Distribution

This species is native to coastal areas of the Great Southern and Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia.

Native Habitat and Soil Preferences

It grows naturally on the edges of salt lakes or in salty depressions, and thrives in salty or alkaline loamy, clayey, clayey-loamy, or sandy soils.

Cold Tolerance and Horticultural Use

It can withstand frost temperatures as low as −7 °C, and can be used as a groundcover.

Invasive Status in California

The species was planted as a fast-growing groundcover along freeways in California, and is now commonly found throughout Southern California and parts of the Bay Area, where it is considered an invasive weed.

Invasion Hotspots in California

It is especially problematic in the San Gabriel Valley and Mission Valley, and is commonly planted along freeways.