Acacia pycnantha Benth., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 16 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Australian golden wattle, South Australian golden wattle, broadleaf wattle, golden wattle

French: acacia doré

Habit:  shrub/tree

Description:  "Shrub or tree usually 3-8 m high. Branchlets sometimes pruinose, glabrous. Phyllodes often pendulous, falcately recurved to oblanceolate, pulvinus 4-7 mm long, much-narrowed at base, normally 9-15 cm long and 10-35 mm wide, obtuse to acute, coriaceous, glabrous, with prominent midrib, penninerved; gland often slightly exserted, sometimes 2, with the lowermost 3-45 mm above pulvinus. Inflorescences racemose; raceme axes 2.5-9 cm long, stout, glabrous; peduncles 3-6 mm long, stout, glabrous; heads showy, globular to obloid, densely 40-80-flowered, bright golden, sometimes lemon yellow; bracteoles evident in buds; laminae subcircular, > 0.5 mm diam., dark brown to blackish, white-fimbriolate. Flowers 5-merous; sepals united. Pods linear, 5-13 cm long, 5-7 mm wide, firmly chartaceous to thinly coriaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, ±oblong, 5.5-6 mm long, somewhat shiny, black; aril clavate"  (Flora of Australia online).

Habitat/ecology:  In Australia (native), "grows in sand or loam, in Eucalyptus forest or woodland, open scrub and heath"  (Flora of Australia online).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Australia (New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria); cultivated and naturalized elsewhere (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 33)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) South Australia, Victoria
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2013)

Comments:  This species is invasive in South Africa.

Control: 

Biological:  "Biological control of invasive golden wattle trees (Acacia pycnantha) by a gall wasp, Trichilogaster sp. (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), in South Africa".