Acacia elata A.Cunn. ex Benth.
WATTLE
Acacias of Australia
Common Name
Mountain Cedar Wattle, Cedar Wattle
Family
Fabaceae
Distribution
Occurs on the coast and tablelands from Orara R. S to Budawang Ra., N.S.W., common on the Blue Mtns and in the Moss Vale-Mittagong district; occasionally naturalised in W.A. and Vic.
Description
Tree usually 7–20 m high; trunk d.b.h. to 0.6 m. Bark rough at base, grey to blackish. Branchlets ±terete or slightly flattened, faintly ridged, golden-puberulous when young, later white- or grey-puberulous. Young foliage-tips golden or cream-coloured, silky-hairy and with dark glandular hairs. Leaves dark green, much paler beneath; pulvinus swollen; petiole 2.5–7.5 (–9) cm long, terete, with 1 prominent dark brown gland 1/4–2/3 below basal pinnae; rachis (3–) 8–17 (–22) cm long, eglandular or sometimes 1 gland at base of uppermost pair of pinnae; pinnae 2–7 pairs, (7–) 10–23 cm long, with a gland often at base of upper 1–5 or more pairs of pinnules; pinnules 8–22 pairs, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, often curved, (10–) 20–60 mm long, (3–) 5–13 mm wide (lower ones shorter than others), glabrous or with sparse appressed hairs above, with ±moderately dense white or yellow appressed hairs beneath, with ±central midnerve and 1 or sometimes 2 secondary nerve(s) from base not reaching the margins and sometimes minor lateral nerves, acutely acuminate. Inflorescences in axillary or terminal false-panicles; peduncles (2–) 5–16 mm long, yellow-hairy. Heads 30–55-flowered, pale yellow or cream-coloured. Pods straight-sided or slightly indented between seeds, ±flat, 4–17.5 cm long, 9–15 mm wide, firmly chartaceous to coriaceous, dark brown to grey, densely greenish yellow-puberulous, later ±glabrous; margin prominent.
Phenology
Flowers mainly late Dec.–Mar.
Habitat
Grows in tall open forest and rainforest, often along streams, in deep sandy soils.
Specimens
N.S.W. 5 miles [8.1 km] SE of Bell, on Mt Tomah road, 11 Jan. 1960, E.F.Constable s.n. (NSW); Bulli Pass, 25 Feb. 1948, E.F.Constable s.n. (BRI, MEL, NSW); Devlin’s Ck, Cheltenham, R.G.Coveny 12471, L.McDougall & P.Wilson (B, CANB, CHR, MEL, MO, PERTH, TL, PRE, W); Springwood, C.Debenham (NSW249157); Hazelbrook, M.D.Tindale s.n. (NSW60545). Vic.: c. 3 km NW of Garfield, on eastern boundary of ‘Gumbaya Park’, I.C.Clarke 2457 (MEL, NSW).
Notes
The specimen of I.C.Clarke 2457 is from a plant invading roadside eucalypt forest and has pinnules to 85 mm long. Acacia elata is fast growing, long-lived and suitable for cultivation in parks and large gardens or as windbreaks, being one of the tallest species in sect. Botrycephalae.
FOA Reference
Data derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 11A (2001), 11B (2001) and 12 (1998), products of ABRS, ©Commonwealth of Australia
Author
M.D.Tindale, P.G.Kodela
Minor edits by J.Reid & J.Rogers
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