Acacia microbotrya
Acacia microbotrya
Safety & Hazards
The seed of many Acacia species, including this one, is edible and highly nutritious, and can be eaten safely as a fairly major part of the diet. Not all species are edible, however, and some can contain moderate levels of toxins[ 1295 Title Acacia in Australia: Ethnobotany and Potential Food Crop Publication Janick (ed.), Progress in new crops pp 228-236, (1996) ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA. Author Lister P.R.; Holford P.; Haigh T.; Morrison D.A. Website https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/v3-toc.html Publisher ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA. Year 1996 ISBN 0-9615027-3-8 Description ]. Especially when harvesting from the wild, especial care should be taken to ensure correct identification of any plants harvested for food[ K Title Plants for a Future Author Ken Fern Description Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips. ]. 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.
Botanical Description
Acacia microbotrya is a bushy shrub or a tree that can grow 2 - 7 metres tall[ 286 Title Flora of Australia Publication Author Website http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/abif/flora/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description The full information from the Flora of Australia - on-line. An excellent resource. ]. Sometimes a single stem up to 100cm long before branching and up to 11cm in diameter is produced, at other times the plant can branch into 2 - 4 main trunks from the base[ 1292 Title Acacia species as large-scale crop plants in theWestern Australian wheatbelt Publication Conservation Science W. Aust. 4 (3) : 96-108 (2002) Author Bartle J.; Cooper D.; Olsen G.; Carslake J. Website https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283798072 Publisher Year 2002 ISBN Description ]. The plant often suckers and can form dense thickets[ 1292 Title Acacia species as large-scale crop plants in theWestern Australian wheatbelt Publication Conservation Science W. Aust. 4 (3) : 96-108 (2002) Author Bartle J.; Cooper D.; Olsen G.; Carslake J. Website https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283798072 Publisher Year 2002 ISBN Description ]. Although it produces true leaves as a seedling, llike most members of this section of the genus, the mature plant does not have true leaves but has leaf-like flattened stems called phyllodes[ 286 Title Flora of Australia Publication Author Website http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/abif/flora/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description The full information from the Flora of Australia - on-line. An excellent resource. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of materials. It has been suggested as a potential commercial seed crop for areas such as Western Australia[ 1293 Title Domestication of wattles with edible seeds for the wheatbelt of Western Australia Publication Conservation Science W. Aust. 4 (3) : 170-180 (2002) Author McDonald M.W.; Maslin B.R.; Thomson L.A.J. Publisher Year 2002 ISBN Description ].