Acacia cincinnata
Acacia cincinnata
Safety & Hazards
Especially in times of drought, many Acacia species can concentrate high levels of the toxin Hydrogen cyanide in their foliage, making them dangerous for herbivores to eat.
Cultivation Details
A plant of the humid tropics and subtropics, where it is found at elevations up to 750 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 32°c, but can tolerate 10 - 39°c[1]. The plant is intolerant of frost[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,500 - 3,000mm, but tolerates 1,000 - 3,500mm[1]. Grows best in a sunny position[1]. Prefers a light, sandy soil but is tolerant of a range of conditions including clays and low fertility[1]. Prefers a well-drained soil but can tolerate seasonal inundation of the soil[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 6, tolerating 4.5 - 6.5[1]. Plants can be highly productive under acid (pH 4 - 5) and high aluminium soil conditions[2]. Trees have shown good wind resistance to tropical cyclones and typhoons[2]. Plants can commence flowering when only 26 months old from seed[2]. Growth rates are moderate in the early years, typically 1.5 - 2.5 metres per year in height and and an increase in bole diameter of 10 - 25mm per year are recorded in humid parts of Southeast Asia[2]. The most rapid growth has been recorded from an ex-forest site in Sabah, Malaysia, where annual height growth increment was 4.1metres per year and a bole increment of 3cm per year[2]. Plants resprout well after coppicing[2]. They may be coppiced at higher cutting heights (about 50cm) but show limited regrowth if cut near ground level[2]. On favourable sites, the rotation period for sawn timber is expected to be about 25 years[2]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria; these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[3].
Propagation
Seed - easy to propagate, the germination rate is about 80%[2]. Like many species within the family Fabaceae, once they have been dried for storage the seeds of this species may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing[PFAF]. Acacia seeds that have matured fully on the bush and have been properly dried have a hard seed coat and can be stored in closed containers without deterioration for 5 - 10 years or more in dry conditions at ambient temperatures. It is best to remove the aril, which attracts weevils and can lead to moulds forming. The arils are easilyremoved by placing the seeds in water and rubbing them between the hands, then drying the seeds and winnowing them[4]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Acacia+cincinnata>
Pollinators
Bees, Butterflies, Insects
References
- [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
- [2]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
- [3]Australian Trees and Shrubs: Species for Land Rehabilitation and Farm Planting in the Tropics — Doran J.C.; Turnbull J.W. (Editors) · Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research; Canbe · 1997 · ISBN 1-86320-127-0 ↩︎A very informative book, rich in information about the uses, cultivation needs and very much more for over 160 species of Australian trees and shrubs.
- [4]Potential of Australian Acacias in combating hunger in semi-arid lands — Rinaudo A.; Patel P.; Thomson L.A.J. · 2002 ↩︎
- [5]Flora of Australia — http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/abif/flora/ ↩︎The full information from the Flora of Australia - on-line. An excellent resource.
- [6]Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants — http://www.anbg.gov.au/cpbr/cd-keys/rfk/index.html ↩︎An online resource giving botanical information, and a little bit about plant usage, for over 2,700 species of plants found in the Australian rainforest.
- [7]Australian Native Plants Society — http://anpsa.org.au/index.html ↩︎A series of fact sheets on Australian plants. Good photographs, brief description and information on uses, habitat, range, cultivation etc.
- [8]The Useful Native Plants of Australia. — Maiden J.H. · Turner & Co.; London. · 1889 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Terse details of the uses of many Australian plants and other species naturalised, or at least growing, in Australia. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎