148


Racosperma auriculiforme (Benth.) Pedley
Synonym                    : Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex Benth.
Family                        : Mimosoideae
Local Names              : Acacia, Darwin Black Wattle, Ear Pod Wattle

Flowering and fruiting period: Throughout the year
Distribution: Native of Tropical Australia
Habitat: Grown as avenue tree, also raised in plantations
IUCN status: Data Deficient
Endemic: No
Uses: Timber yielding, Tannin source, weed with ability to outstrip any competition
Key Characters: Trees, to 15 m high, bark brown, smooth. Phyllodes alternate; stipules lateral; petiole pulvinate, slender, glabrous; lamina linear, margin entire. Flowers bisexual, yellow, in axillary spike; calyx campanulate; lobes 5; corolla lobes 5, lobes lanceolate; stamens many; ovary superior, subsessile, glabrous. Fruit a pod, flat, woody and much twisted in irregular coils; seeds black, with orange-yellow coloured aril.