What Acacia is this?

[ButterBricks]

Hey,

Old thread withered away.

So here we go:

[The Deb-One-Amine]

Ive Offered Help Before But You've Got Me Stumped Here...Hmm Has It Already Been Thru Its Flowering Phase Or Is it Just Entering It..

[gerbil]

Given your location, i'd be leaning towards A. longifolia, though it is hard to tell from the pictures. Key it out and you tell us!

and less than a day from your post on the other thread, i'd hardly call that withering away, no need to start a new topic and double up all the information.

The Deb. it is just entering flowering.

Edited August 12, 2010 by gerbil

[The Deb-One-Amine]

yeah i was leaning towards that but i couldnt see any cylindrical Flowers So maybe its var. sophorae but i know my local longifolia is very different to that

[gerbil]

yeah i was leaning towards that but i couldnt see any cylindrical Flowers So maybe its var. sophorae but i know my local longifolia is very different to that

 

Both sophorae and longifolia have cylindrical spikes, the spikes shown are just immature, once fully flowered the 'loose' spikes can fill out, in some species with loose cylindrical spikes they will never fully fill out to a complete cylinder, though ime when longifolia fully flowers it pretty much makes the full cylinder, i.e. you can't see the flower stalk (going from memory). They do look a bit different from what i instantly recognise as longifolia, but going from the little information available i'd say it's just environmental as well as fresh growth. Acacia can be very variable, and the longifolia group can vary greatly between the longifolia and sophorae.

it could very well be a different species, but some older hardened phyllodes in the photo are representative of longifolia imo, the flower colour is right and the flowering time as well as location fit. As said photos are very limited info to go off.

Edited August 12, 2010 by gerbil

[ButterBricks]

Hey guys!

wow, thanks for all the imput!

OK.. so Yea, all the Acacia's in my area have started flowering in the last few weeks. Before that I hadn't even seen them round!

This one has really thick bark on it which peels off in sections, this sets it appart from the other in the area which don't even appear to have bark other than a dense, thick flesh. The bark is currently falling off/already has, still plenty on it atm.

Its (Actually there are two) a fair bit shorter than the rest, standing about... 2-3meters tall.

On a previous post it was mentioned that a shot of the tree itself would help, should I do this? or perhaps a more developed branch?

EDIT: Added Info.

Edited August 12, 2010 by ButterBricks

[The Deb-One-Amine]

yeah well I can work an id from a branch shot and maybe a bark shot just so that all the pictures of the plant can make a 100% Id of your Acacia but and gerbil yeah I've noticed that but I was walking around again and I stopped next to my longifolia that's been in flower for at least 3 weeks has its cylinders full and I mean every single one is a perfect cylinder the leaves are up to 15- 20 cm long and never drooping also they tapper as yours do in the picture but are a bit wider.. can you measure the leave length/width, flower spike average length.. also can i see red tips on the leaves, but I'm not quite sure from the pictures..these factors will also help in conjunction with the pictures to make a good id and also help for future reference for you and others that are looking for identification of acacias.

[gerbil]

Yeah but as said they are very variable and the longifolia and sophorae vary greatly from highly distinctive from each other, to almost exactly the same, and everything inbetween. One local specimen around here only has immature flower spikes, yours is in full bloom that's cool, but that's one individual, as is one specimen that i pass everyday. The red tips threw me a bit, looked a bit more maidenii like, though longifolia do get red tips as well.

Butterbricks if you are really wanting to get into acacia id for life, get the flora of australia mimosaceae 11a 11b which deals with acacia. $150 soft cover 2 books, very handy, if not essential for good field work. Not all Acacia species in australia have been found, and new ones have not particularly been documented, then you can get hybrids and mass variation in everything, it's a confusing field but very rewarding, it'd be well worth getting down in your mind all the ID characteristics and if you want easier definitive help online you must supply a lot if not all of that information. Types of foliage, lengths, widths (and characteristics at certain points on the phyllode), tip characteristics, venation, glands and spacings, attachments to stems, foliage structure on the stem, inflorescence, individual flower structure within the inflorescence (which gets tricky), general life form, size and shape, soils and location. etc. the list goes on.

It's not essential to supply, as deb said ID can be done via photos, but it is much easier for everyone if as much information is supplied as possible. I don't believe though ID can always be done from simple photos, they are too complex for that, unless you know the species like the back of your hand, there is no way all species can be done via simple non-detailed photos, and i don't believe anyone knows all species let alone like the back of their hand.

Edited August 13, 2010 by gerbil

[The Deb-One-Amine]

Yeah where can i get a copy of that? CSIRO or ebay mabye any help will be great

[gerbil]

price can vary, i think $150 is the base rate at csiro, i got mine from andrew isles bookshop in melbourne, you can mail order, that was a little while ago, but would imagine they'd still stock it, hardcover is more expensive, but i like soft for the field, not that it's really an ideal field text size and weight wise, good for the car i guess in the field.

Leon costermans texts, the small and large are both good, but fairly brief on acacia, but still good, just very general, the larger yellow one Native trees and shrubs of southeast australia (think that's the title) is very handy for broader plant families and species. A good field guide, the little one is just a compact pocket book. I think the bigger yellow one has just been revised/updated, the little one was revised/updated about a year ago i think.

Flora of melbourne is not bad either, but again brief and broad on plant families and species.

The CSIRO wattle CD is good, i paid $105 years ago, has pretty much what the online wattle databases do, plus an interactive program where you punch in characterics and it spits out the species which match your input. They can generally be hired from libraries too, but the little booklet is handy in it, which from memory talks a bit about how to use the interactive program. CSIRO stuff is really good, they have a grass CD too, same deal as the wattle cd, probably others, but that's all i've encountered at libraries without looking for them. CSIRO website is really cool for looking for nature books and the likes.

Edited August 13, 2010 by gerbil

[volcanicplug]

Hi Butterbricks,

looks to me like Acacia floribunda... has leaves with a weeping habit when compared with longifolia whose leaves appear more erect... i have a floribunda in my garden which is in flower at the moment and has red leaf tips as well... http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Acacia~floribunda

[gerbil]

that's an excellent suggestion, particularly with the curvature, the floribunda around here are generally thinner in the phyllode and a bit paler in the flower, variability haha, but it's looking more promising than longifolia, good work vp.

[The Deb-One-Amine]

Thanks Vp

[ButterBricks]

Hey guys,

Yea, I've heard the CSIRO stuff is great. Pretty $$$-ish for me atm as I'm trying to obtain plants and a decent setup. [Ebay oinly has some random CSIRO weightloss one..]

Is SWIY able to host the CD as an ISO or something online somewhere? Even if it's just a use-once torrent? [if not, don't worry I guess.]

- As I will be getting a couple of them off the site eventually, as someone suggested the handbook is worth the money itself.

Tremendous amount of help and info in these forums!

Thanks Guys!

BB