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Fabaceae FAMILY

Acacia silvestris

Acacia silvestris

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

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

HabitTree
GrowthFast

Acacia silvestris is a plant of the warm temperate zone, where it is found at elevations up to 1,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 15 - 25°c, but can tolerate 8 - 33°c[1]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -8°c, but young growth is more tender and can be severely damaged at -1°c[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 800 - 1,000mm, but tolerates 600 - 1,100mm[1]. Requires a sunny position[1]. Requires a well-drained soil, preferring one that is light to medium in texture and of moderate to low fertility[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7, tolerating 5 - 7.5[1]. A fast-growing species[2]. It can increase in height when young by 2 metres per year in warm temperate sites[2]. Regeneration of this long-lived species is almost always after fire[3]. 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[2].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a sunny position in a warm greenhouse[4].The dried seed of most, if not all, members of this genus has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing to speed up 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. Sow the seed in Spring in a greenhouse. As soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots and grow them on in a sunny position in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts, and consider giving them some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors. 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[5]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Acacia+silvestris>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [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. [2]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.
  3. [3]Flora of Australia — http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/abif/flora/ ↩︎The full information from the Flora of Australia - on-line. An excellent resource.
  4. [4]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  5. [5]Potential of Australian Acacias in combating hunger in semi-arid lands — Rinaudo A.; Patel P.; Thomson L.A.J. · 2002 ↩︎
  6. [6]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.
  7. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎