Acacia longifolia (Andrews) Willd., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 10 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Acacia sophorae (Labill.) R. Br.; Mimosa longifolia Andrews; Mimosa sophorae Labill.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Sydney golden wattle, coastal wattle, golden wattle, long-leaved wattle, sallow wattle

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Shrub, small tree 3-7 m, unarmed.  Stems:  twig angled, glabrous or minutely hairy when young.  Leaf simple, 5-15 cm, linear-lanceolate or obovate; 2-3 longitudinal veins more prominent than others.  Inflorescence: spike 2-4 cm, axillary, less than leaf.  Flowers bright yellow.  Fruit 5-10 cm, more or less straight, more or less cylindric, narrowed between seeds, ending in a curved beak, brown.  Seed: stalk short, aril thick, cup-shaped"  (Hickman, 1993).

"A spreading and unarmed shrub or small tree, 2-10 m tall, with a smooth and grey bark, and with bright green, flat phyllodes instead of leaves.  Phyllodes are linear-lanceolate to obovate, 8-20 cm long and 1-2.5 cm wide, and have 2-5 prominent longitudinal veins.  Bright yellow flowers appear in axillary, cylindrical flowerheads of 2-5 cm length and c. 7 mm width.  Fruits are pale brown pods of 5-15 cm length and 3-6 mm width, more or less straight and cylindric, and constricted between seeds.  Each contains 6-8 seeds having a thick aril"  (Weber, 2003; p. 15).

Habitat/ecology:  "Disturbed places, especially sandy, coastal areas; up to 150 m" (Hickman, 1993). "Riparian habitats, woodland, grassland, coastal dunes and scrub"  (Weber, 2003; p. 15).

Propagation:  Seed. Large quantities of seed accumulate in the soil and may remain dormant for many years (Weber, 2003; p. 15).

Native range:  Eastern Australia

Presence:

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	Australian Biological Resources Study (2013)
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria; naturalized, Western Australia
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	Australian Biological Resources Study (2013)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Java
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Owen, S. J. (1997)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 706) "Waste land, scrubland, especially coastal areas".
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)

Comments:  Also reported invasive in South Africa (Henderson, 1995), Israel (Owen, 1997), Portugal (Hugo Bezerra, communications to Aliens listserver).

Control:  Pull or dig out small plants or treat with herbicide. Cut large trees since they do not sprout. Follow up to remove new seedlings (Weber, 2003; p. 15).