Acacia binervia
Encyclopedia
Acacia binervia, commonly known as the Coast Myall, is a wattle
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...

 native to New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 and Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

. It can grow as a shrub or as a tree reaching 16 m in height. This plant is reportedly toxic to livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

 as the foliage (phyllodes) contain a glucoside
Glucoside
A glucoside is a glycoside that is derived from glucose. Glucosides are common in plants, but rare in animals. Glucose is produced when a glucoside is hydrolysed by purely chemical means, or decomposed by fermentation or enzymes....

 which can produce hydrogen cyanide if cut.

Taxonomy

German botanist Johann Christoph Wendland
Johann Christoph Wendland
Johann Christoph Wendland was a German botanist and gardener who was a native of Petit-Landau, Alsace. His son- Heinrich Ludolph Wendland and his grandson- Hermann Wendland were also gardeners and botanists.As a young man he received an education in horticulture at the nursery of Karlsruhe Palace...

 first described this species as Mimosa binervia in 1798, before American botanist James Francis Macbride reclassified it in the genus Acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...

in 1919. Common names include coast myall and rosewood.

Description

Acacia binervia grows as a shrub to small tree anywhere from 2 to 16 m (7–50 ft) high. The bark is dark brown to grey in colour, and the elliptic to sickle-shaped (falcate) phyllodes are 6–15 cm (2.4–6 in) in length and 0.5–2.3 cm (0.2–1 in) wide. The cylindrical yellow flowers appear in spring (August to October). Flowering is followed by the development of 6–8 cm long seed pods, which are ripe by December.

Distribution and habitat

Acacia binervia is found in central New South Wales from the Hunter Valley
Hunter Valley
The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney with an approximate population of 645,395 people. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within of the coast, with 55% of the entire...

 south, and to Bungonia in the southwest, and continuing south into Victoria. In the Sydney basin, it grows on a variety of soils and associated plant communities—alluvial soils, sandstone-, shale- or trachyte-based soils, generally with good drainage. It grows in dry sclerophyll forest, associated with such species as yellow bloodwood (Corymbia eximia
Corymbia eximia
Corymbia eximia, commonly known as the Yellow Bloodwood, is a bloodwood native to New South Wales. It occurs around the Sydney Basin often in high rainfall areas on shallow sandstone soils on plateaux or escarpments, in fire prone areas. Growing as a gnarled tree to 20 m , it is recognisable by its...

), grey gum (Eucalyptus punctata), narrow-leaved ironbark (E. crebra
Eucalyptus crebra
Eucalyptus crebra, commonly known as the Narrow-leaved ironbark or Narrowleaf red ironbark, is a type of Ironbark tree native to eastern Australia. A member of the large genus Eucalyptus, this tree is in the Myrtaceae family and can grow to a large spreading tree up to 35 m high...

), mugga ironbark (E. sideroxylon
Eucalyptus sideroxylon
Eucalyptus sideroxylon, or Mugga, Red Ironbark or Mugga Ironbark, is a small to medium-sized or occasionally tall tree. The bark is persistent on the trunk and large branches, hard and deeply furrowed, dark grey to black, with upper limbs smooth and whitish.Adult leaves are stalked, lanceolate to...

), or more open woodland with narrow-leaved ironbark and black cypress pine (Callitris endlicheri
Callitris endlicheri
Callitris endlicheri, commonly known as the Black Cypress Pine, is a species of conifer in the Cupressaceae family.It is found only in Australia.-References:* Conifer Specialist Group 1998. . Downloaded on 10 July 2007....

), and riparian (riverbank) forest with river peppermint (E. elata
Eucalyptus elata
Eucalyptus elata, River peppermint, River white gum, is a medium to tall tree with rough bark on the lower trunk, compact with narrow longitudinal fissures, dark grey, shedding above in long ribbons, often remaining in the crown, to leave a smooth, grey, cream or whitish surface.Adult leaves are...

) and gossamer wattle (Acacia floribunda
Acacia floribunda
Acacia floribunda is a perennial evergreen shrub or tree. It is native to New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, but is cultivated extensively, and has naturalised in South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia, and also in Indonesia, Mauritius and northern New Zealand...

).

Ecology

Acacia binervia regenerates from bushfire by a soil-borne seedbank, the seeds germinate and grow after fire while adult plants are killed. The frequency of fire for the cycle to persist is anywhere from 10 to 50 years. It is useful to bees in the honey industry.
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