Acacia podalyriifolia Allan Cunningham ex George Don, 1832 (previously known as Acacia podalyriaefolia) Queensland Silver Wattle, Mount Morgan Wattle MIMOSACEAE

Don Herbison-Evans, (donherbisonevans@outlook.com) & Christine Ashe

What a beautiful flowering shrub/tree this is. Silver leaves and golden flowers make for a very showy combination but the tree is attractive even without the golden flowers - just silver phyllodes alone.

Like most members of this genus the leaves are not true leaves but leaf-like flattened stems called phyllodes. These are elliptical, about 2 -5 cm long and a lovely silvery grey, particularly when newly emerging. At that time they are covered with soft grey hairs which give them a felty texture.

The seed pods too when fresh and new are covered in soft grey hairs and are quite striking.

Acacia podalyriifolia can be anywhere from 2 to 6 metres tall with a spread of 2 – 4 metres, so a nicely-shaped, rounded shrub/tree. The bark is smooth or sometimes finely fissured and continues the silvery grey theme.

The flower buds are slow to develop and so the attractiveness is enhanced by the flowering being a drawn out process.

The flowers are ball shaped and clustered in long racemes at the base of the phyllodes. The racemes are quite a bit longer than the phyllodes, which allows the yellow ball flowers to display well.

The foliage and flowers are food for a number of Caterpillars, including :

Prosotas felderi, LYCAENIDAE

Polyura sempronius, NYMPHALIDAE