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Rock.0

ID Request: What species of Acacia is this?

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Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone can help ID this wonderful acacia that has been growing in my backyard for about 30 years. Hope these pics are sufficient, please let me know if there are any other details you'd like me to photograph.

Location is Eastern Melbourne.

 

Thanks.:)797678480-20150727_140208.thumb.jpg.1f6752cd35a5f5e96c1e7d5217190f43.jpg797679062-20150727_140236.thumb.jpg.85abdd928d40372af66259f88c116a88.jpg797680057-20150727_140300.thumb.jpg.272f399f3749c6491818a49861a5e226.jpg

 

797678480-20150727_140208.thumb.jpg.1f6752cd35a5f5e96c1e7d5217190f43.jpg

797679062-20150727_140236.thumb.jpg.85abdd928d40372af66259f88c116a88.jpg

797680057-20150727_140300.thumb.jpg.272f399f3749c6491818a49861a5e226.jpg

797678480-20150727_140208.thumb.jpg.1f6752cd35a5f5e96c1e7d5217190f43.jpg

797679062-20150727_140236.thumb.jpg.85abdd928d40372af66259f88c116a88.jpg

797680057-20150727_140300.thumb.jpg.272f399f3749c6491818a49861a5e226.jpg

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19 answers to this question

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The way the tree hangs is a lot like floribunda. I have a lot of trouble ID.ing longiflora due to varitation

 

EDIT: I'd be way more inclined to go with Floribunda over longi, Longi tend to hang with much denser flowers  

Edited by TheMooseZeus
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1 hour ago, Rock1084 said:

've actually got an Ehrlich reagent test stashed away from about a year ago, would testing the raw plant matter show up?

I've never tried this but i have seen people ask before and the general consensus was no, it sadly wouldn't.

1 hour ago, Rock1084 said:

would more detailed photos help? Phyllode measurements etc?

Detailed pictures might help a little better with a ruler for scale but theres probably enough variation in the species for it not to help a whole lot

Have a look at this:

http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Acacia~floribunda

If it matches the description you should feel pretty confident. Flowering times help a lot too. 

 

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The lack of glands on the phyllodes is a give away!

Interesting that it's beginning to bud though 

I recommend you collect as many seeds as you can from this one! Also, seeds would help a bit in ID.ing 

I've seen flori in the wild with super thin phyllodes maybe 3x smaller than what i've seen online. Variation kills me, i've spent far too long staring at longifolia in my area. More often than not I find something worth investigating when i'm further away from home. Its nice getting familiar with what you aren't looking for i suppose (Super jealous hahaha)

 

 

Edited by TheMooseZeus
I have an essay due and i'm procrastinating

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The incredible thing about floribunda is that the Phyllodes are what one would be after so its very sustainable.

The seed pods will come out after flowering, not much point looking now.

Due to the hard case on the acacia seeds, they need smoke/ fire to germinate naturally. The way people go about it is by pouring near boiling water over them or sanding down one side with sand paper. This allows water to get in. So spreading the seeds around won't have too much effect in your garden unless it regularly catches on fire.

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10 hours ago, TheMooseZeus said:

acacias have these small indents at the base of the phyllode

No idea how and no idea why! 

I think they are nectar glands. Attracts insects do defend the tree/foodsource

Not 100% sure tho 

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Acacia floribunda perhaps? Not real up to scratch with ID's tho

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29 minutes ago, TheMooseZeus said:

Were these photos taken recently?

No, I've had them sitting on my phone for a while. Taken about October 2015 (Spring)

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29 minutes ago, Dicko said:

Acacia floribunda perhaps? Not real up to scratch with ID's tho

I've been told before it could be floribunda or longifolia but haven't had any confirmations

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14 minutes ago, Rock1084 said:

I've been told before it could be floribunda or longifolia but haven't had any confirmations

I know an easy test ;) 

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6 hours ago, TheMooseZeus said:

I know an easy test ;) 

I've actually got an Ehrlich reagent test stashed away from about a year ago, would testing the raw plant matter show up?

 

6 hours ago, TheMooseZeus said:

The way the tree hangs is a lot like floribunda. I have a lot of trouble ID.ing longiflora due to varitation

 

EDIT: I'd be way more inclined to go with Floribunda over longi, Longi tend to hang with much denser flowers  

Thank you Moose, would more detailed photos help? Phyllode measurements etc?

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11 minutes ago, TheMooseZeus said:

I've never tried this but i have seen people ask before and the general consensus was no, it sadly wouldn't.

Detailed pictures might help a little better with a ruler for scale but theres probably enough variation in the species for it not to help a whole lot

Have a look at this:

http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Acacia~floribunda

If it matches the description you should feel pretty confident. Flowering times help a lot too. 

 

Thanks for the link, it looks pretty damn close! 

 

Interesting that the Ehrlich test may not work, I've used it for dried fungi before and it takes a while longer than extracted material, but it works. I'll give it a crack with a few different samples and see what happens.

Here are a few more pics I just took, it is not flowering at the moment

20180313_193652.thumb.jpg.fb058baba5bbff72b41286b8baf990c1.jpg20180313_193717.thumb.jpg.99d75deba590ce335f8a57609864f81b.jpg20180313_193727.thumb.jpg.257fb10188d0b88a57336864b29ddd9d.jpg

20180313_193652.thumb.jpg.fb058baba5bbff72b41286b8baf990c1.jpg

20180313_193717.thumb.jpg.99d75deba590ce335f8a57609864f81b.jpg

20180313_193727.thumb.jpg.257fb10188d0b88a57336864b29ddd9d.jpg

20180313_193652.thumb.jpg.fb058baba5bbff72b41286b8baf990c1.jpg

20180313_193717.thumb.jpg.99d75deba590ce335f8a57609864f81b.jpg

20180313_193727.thumb.jpg.257fb10188d0b88a57336864b29ddd9d.jpg

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52 minutes ago, TheMooseZeus said:

The lack of glands on the phyllodes is a give away!

Interesting that it's beginning to bud though 

I recommend you collect as many seeds as you can from this one! Also, seeds would help a bit in ID.ing 

I've seen flori in the wild with super thin phyllodes maybe 3x smaller than what i've seen online. Variation kills me, i've spent far too long staring at longifolia in my area. More often than not I find something worth investigating when i'm further away from home. Its nice getting familiar with what you aren't looking for i suppose (Super jealous hahaha)

 

 

Sorry what do you mean by glands? What does this indicate?

And seeds...is it advisable to harvest them for spreading them in the wild?

 

I'm as uninformed as they come when it comes to botany (though I'm keen on learning), I still need to look up how to spell phyllodes correctly. I know the fact that dumb luck has it that I have had this thing in my backyard for 3 decades, and the day I discovered Acacias were active was the day I realised it was even there must bust frustrating as hell :blush:

 

 

 

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Most (if not all, other than Flori) acacias have these small indents at the base of the phyllode

No idea how and no idea why! I just know they aren't present or very tiny on floribunda phyllodes!

 29133944_974915252657120_962286104113840128_o.thumb.jpg.dc58a310d726912a95b70bf7fadfd611.jpg This is one on longifolia as you can see its quite pronounced (The brown bit) I imagine it was once more green but for some reason its been sitting under my bed for a while...

9 minutes ago, Rock1084 said:

And seeds...is it advisable to harvest them for spreading them in the wild?

From what i have been told, in some bush land they can be considered weeds, i don't know the legitimacy to this claim though 

There are many people on this forum alone that would be willing to buy/trade them, I sure would be and have bought them before.

 

13 minutes ago, Rock1084 said:

I'm as uninformed as they come when it comes to botany (though I'm keen on learning)

Acacias are a great thing to go out and try to ID, Take tonnes of pictures and compare them to species you know are in your area. There are so many websites out there.

http://worldwidewattle.com/ <--- Great resource 

29133944_974915252657120_962286104113840128_o.thumb.jpg.dc58a310d726912a95b70bf7fadfd611.jpg

29133944_974915252657120_962286104113840128_o.thumb.jpg.dc58a310d726912a95b70bf7fadfd611.jpg

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Thank you for the info Moose. I've seen tonnes of Dealbata in my area, though AFAIK they are not active.

 

I did an Ehrlich test on the phyllodes of my flori and it came back negative. I'll attempt with some branches and branchlets.

 

If one was to attempt extraction on this species, are you aware of which part of the plant would have the highest yield, and how to harvest it sustainably/minimising damage?

 

I'll see if I can find some seeds, not sure what time of year they come out though.

Edited by Rock.0

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2 minutes ago, Dicko said:

I think they are nectar glands. Attracts insects do defend the tree/foodsource

Not 100% sure tho 

I often see acacias covered in ants, could possibly help pollenate  

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4 minutes ago, TheMooseZeus said:

I often see acacias covered in ants, could possibly help pollenate  

Was told by another acacia enthusiast that the nectar does something to the ants, making the acacia nectar the only foodsource for them. Not sure if its actually true or what but interesting none the less. 

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57 minutes ago, Dicko said:

Was told by another acacia enthusiast that the nectar does something to the ants, making the acacia nectar the only foodsource for them. Not sure if its actually true or what but interesting none the less. 

Thats super interesting 

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1 hour ago, TheMooseZeus said:

The incredible thing about floribunda is that the Phyllodes are what one would be after so its very sustainable.

Wow, this tree just keeps on getting better. I just went for my morning dog walk through some creeklands and ID'd quite a number of very young Floribundas, including one that had been damaged somehow, so I might head back there and scavenge whatever I can.  Also a couple of other species that I photographed (See this thread)

1 hour ago, TheMooseZeus said:

Due to the hard case on the acacia seeds, they need smoke/ fire to germinate naturally. The way people go about it is by pouring near boiling water over them or sanding down one side with sand paper. This allows water to get in. So spreading the seeds around won't have too much effect in your garden unless it regularly catches on fire.

Good to know :o

Edited by Rock.0

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