Acacia saligna
Acacia saligna
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 saligna is a small, prickly, fast-growing, often multi-stemmed evergreen shrub or tree growing up to 9 metres tall, though often smaller[ 269 Title Handbook of Energy Crops Publication Author Duke. J. Website https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html Publisher - Year 1983 ISBN - Description Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants. , 303 Title World Agroforesty Centre Publication Author Website http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc. , 307 Title Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. Publication Author Barwick. M. Publisher Thames & Hudson, London Year 2004 ISBN 0-500-51181-0 Description A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life. ]. Plants can be single-stemmed or multi-stemmed, with mature trunks 20 - 40cm in diameter. Plants produce suckers and sometimes form 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 leaves as a seedling, llike most members of the genus the mature plant does not have true leaves but has leaf-like flattened stems called phyllodes[ 397 Title Australian Native Plants Society Publication Author Website http://anpsa.org.au/index.html Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A series of fact sheets on Australian plants. Good photographs, brief description and information on uses, habitat, range, cultivation etc. ]. The plant is an important source of tannins, especially in southwestern Australia[ 601 Title The Useful Native Plants of Australia. Publication Author Maiden J.H. Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org Publisher Turner & Co.; London. Year 1889 ISBN Description 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. ]. It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food. It is extensively from the wild, and sometimes also cultivated in semi-arid areas of north Africa and the Middle East, as windbreaks, for coastal sand dune fixation and for fuel[ 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. ]. 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 ]. There is a weeping form that produces an abundance of attractive yellow flowers and is often grown as an ornamental in the tropics and subtropics[ 269 Title Handbook of Energy Crops Publication Author Duke. J. Website https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html Publisher - Year 1983 ISBN - Description Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants. , 307 Title Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. Publication Author Barwick. M. Publisher Thames & Hudson, London Year 2004 ISBN 0-500-51181-0 Description A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life. ]. Because of its hardiness and profuse reproductive abilities, this tree has become a serious menace in parts of South Africa by invading native ecosystems and displacing indigenous vegetation. It spreads both by root suckers and seed[ 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. ], infests water courses (sometimes decreasing the water available for irrigation), and has proved difficult to eradicate[ 269 Title Handbook of Energy Crops Publication Author Duke. J. Website https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html Publisher - Year 1983 ISBN - Description Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants. ].