Gold acacia

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Gold acacia
Inflorescences and phyllodes of the golden acacia (Acacia pycnantha).

Inflorescences and phyllodes of the golden acacia ( Acacia pycnantha ).

Systematics
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Order : Fabales (Fabales)
Family : Legumes (Fabaceae)
Subfamily : Mimosa family (Mimosoideae)
Genre : Acacia ( Acacia )
Type : Gold acacia
Scientific name
Acacia pycnantha
Benth.

The golden acacia ( Acacia pycnantha ) is a species of plant in the subfamily of the mimosa family (Mimosoideae) within the legume family (Fabaceae). It is the national flower symbol of Australia and is featured in the coat of arms.

Occurrence

The golden acacia has its natural range from the south of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia to western Victoria and the southern inland areas of New South Wales , as well as Tasmania . The golden acacia grows mostly in dry hard-leaf vegetation and heather on sandy and stony soils. In areas with annual precipitation between 350 mm and 1000 mm.

It is an invasive plant in South Africa and California , among others .

description

The golden acacia grows as an evergreen , spreading, small tree or shrub and can reach heights of between three and eight meters. It has a mainly smooth, supple, dark brown to greyish bark . The task of photosynthesis is taken over by long, slender, elliptical, inverted-lanceolate, more or less sickle-shaped dark green phyllodes that can be between 8 and 20 centimeters long and 0.5 to 3.5 centimeters wide. The median nerve is raised.

In late winter and spring (July to November) it produces axillary racemose or terminal paniculate total inflorescences , which have a length of about 2 to 15 centimeters, in each of which 4 to 25 fluffy, gold-colored, spherical partial inflorescences stand together. The spherical partial inflorescences have a diameter of about 0.6 to 1 centimeter and each contain 40 to 80 flowers.

The sessile, fragrant flowers are radial symmetry , five-fold with double perianth . The five 0.8 to 1 millimeter long sepals are fused. The five gold-colored, 1.2 to 1.5 millimeter long petals are all free from each other. The many stamens are free from each other and not fused with the perianth. There are many free upper carpels with a simple stylus.

Seeds

The straight or curved, more or less flat legume has more or less straight sides except between the seeds , above which it is slightly raised. It is paper-like to leathery, has a length of 5 to 14 centimeters and a width of 5 to 8 millimeters.

The golden acacia is particularly variable in the form of the phyllodes and the flower color.

use

The golden acacia is planted to reduce soil erosion . Tannins can be extracted from its bark . The flower can be used to make perfume, but it can also be eaten cooked.

Systematics

The specific epithet pycnantha is derived from the Greek words pycnos for thick and compact and anthos for blossom. The first description was published in 1842 by George Bentham in the London Journal of Botany , 1, 351. The type specimen was collected in interior New South Wales in 1836 by Thomas Livingstone Mitchell , who led two expeditions to the Darling River and Murray River .

Synonyms for Acacia pycnantha Benth. are Acacia falcinella Meisn. nom. illeg., Acacia pycnantha var. petiolaris H.Vilm. , Acacia westonii Maiden , Acacia westoni Maiden orth. Var., Acacia petiolaris clay. , Racosperma pycnanthum (Benth.) Pedley .

Nature hybrids between Acacia pycnantha and Acacia williamsonii are known from the state of Victoria in Australia. Hybrids that arose in culture are between Acacia pycnantha , Acacia dealbata and Acacia podalyriifolia ; were generated in Europe Acacia × deneufvillei L.Winter ex A.Berger ( Acacia podalyriifolia × Acacia pycnantha ) as 'de Neufvillei', Acacia × hanburyana L.Winter ex A.Berger ( Acacia podalyriifolia × Acacia dealbata ), Acacia × siebertiana L. Winter ex A. Berger ( Acacia podalyriifolia × Acacia pycnantha ).

Coat of arms of australia

Coat of arms of australia
Governor General's Badge

The golden acacia is called the Golden Wattle in Australia . It is the national floral emblem of the state and is depicted on its coat of arms. It can also be seen on the governor general's badge .

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Individual evidence

  1. a b c P.G. Kodela: Acacia pycnantha in the New South Wales Flora Online: Description .
  2. a b c Floral Emblems of Australia
  3. a b Entry in Plants for a Future (English).
  4. a b Australia's flora
  5. Australian Plant Name Index (APNI)

Web links

Commons : Golden Acacia ( Acacia pycnantha )  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files