Acacia melanoxylon R.Br. ex Aiton, Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 12 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Australian blackwood, blackwood, blackwood acacia

French: Acacia à bois dur

Spanish: acacia negra, aromo australiano

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Unarmed, evergreen tree 8-15 (-20)m high; trunk straight, crown dense and pyramidal to cylindrical. Leaves: Phyllodes greyish turning dark dull-green, straight to slightly curved, with 3-7 prominent longitudinal veins and fine net-veins between; often bipinnate on young plants and coppice shoots. Flowers: Pale yellow, globular flower heads. Fruits: Reddish-brown pods, narrower than leaves, slightly constricted, twisted; seeds almost encircled by pinkish-red seed stalks" (Henderson, 1995; p. 56).

Habitat/ecology:  "Forest edges and gaps, grass- and heathland, scrubland, riparian habitats.  In the native range, the plant grows as a shrub or tree in rainforest margins and on stream banks.  Where invasive, it forms dense thickets, competing for water and light and replacing native vegetation"  (Weber, 2003; p. 17).  Native to rainforests in Australia, it is best adapted to cooler, moist sites. In Hawai‘i, widely planted as a forestry tree, now "naturalized throughout the Kokee State Park region of Kauai" and on East Maui (Lorence et al., 1995; p. 36).  "In Chile this species grows in the following environmental conditions:  Low altitude, interior valleys.  Somewhat dry areas where the drought may last 3-5 months, precipitations of 400-800 mm. are concentrated in winter. Fully exposed to the sun, level areas or slopes facing north"  (Chileflora).

Propagation:  Seed. Reproduces prolifically after fire. The tree coppices after damage and frequently suckers from the roots (Weber, 2003; p. 17).

Native range:  Australia.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Rapa Nui (Easter) Island	Rapa Nui (Easter) Island (Isla de Pasqua)	introduced cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2008) (pp. 35, 41)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 550)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 550)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. (1995) (p. 36) Vouchers cited: D. Lorence et al. 5806 (PTBG, US), T. Flynn 1988 (PTBG), T. Croat 44962 (MO, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 640) East Maui
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Meidell, J. Scott/Oppenheimer, H. L./Bartlett, R. T. (1998) (pp. 7-8) West Maui. Voucher cited: Meidell & Oppenheimer 166 (BISH) A serious threat to native shrubland.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 640)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Oppenheimer, Hank (2010) (p. 35) Vouchers cited: Oppenheimer H10810 (BISH, PTBG), Oppenheimer H10812 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 640)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 76) Voucher cited: Gay in MacKee 42361

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 (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	Australian Biological Resources Study (2011)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)	introduced	Belov, Michail (2011)
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 708) "Waste places, often coastal".
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced invasive	Cronk, Q. C. B./Fuller, J. L. (2001) (p. 132)

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 invasive	Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France (2010)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
South Africa South Africa	South Africa (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)

Comments:  A noxious weed species in South Africa (Henderson, 1995; p. 56). Has been used for forestry plantings in Hawai‘i, New Zealand and South Africa.

Control: 

Physical:  Pull or dig out small seedlings, making sure to remove roots.

Chemical:  Cut large plants and treat the cut stumps with herbicide.

Biological: Melanterius acaciae Lea (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) introduced into South Africa and under evaluation (Julien, 1992; p. 72).

Additional information:
Information from the Bugwood Wiki.
Fact sheet from "Common forest trees of Hawaii" (PDF format).
Fact sheet from Florabank.
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.
Photos and other information from Chileflora.
Information from the USDA Tropical Tree Seed Manual (PDF Format).

Additional online information about Acacia melanoxylon is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Acacia melanoxylon as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Acacia melanoxylon may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Australian Biological Resources Study. 2011. Flora of Australia Online. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.

Belov, Michail. 2011. Chileflora (online resource).

Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France. 2010. Les espéces envahissantes en outre-mer (online resource).

Cronk, Q. C. B./Fuller, J. L. 2001. Plant invaders. Earthscan Publications, Ltd., London. 241 pp.

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Henderson, Lesley. 1995. Plant invaders of Southern Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute Handbook No. 5, Agriculture Research Council, ARC/LNR, Pretoria, South Africa. 177 pp.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2011. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

Julien, M. H. (ed.). 1992. Biological control of weeds: A world catalogue of agents and their target weeds (third edition). CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 186 pp.

Little, Elbert L./Skolmen, Roger G. 1989. Common forest trees of Hawaii (native and introduced). USDA Agriculture Handbook 679. Washington, D.C. 377 pp. + plates.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. 1995. Contributions to the flora of Hawai‘i. III. New additions, range extensions, and rediscoveries of flowering plants. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1994. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 41:19-58.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Meidell, J. Scott/Oppenheimer, H. L./Bartlett, R. T. 1998. New plant records from West Maui. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1997. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 56:6-8.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2008. Rapport de mission d'expertise a Rapa Nui du 02 au 11 Juin 2008: Plan d'action strategique pour lutter contre les plantes introduites envahissantes sur Rapa Nui (Île de pâques) [Strategic action plan to control invasive alien plants on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) [unpublished report]. Délégation à la Recherche, Ministère de l'Education, l'Enseignement supérieur et la Recherche, B.P. 20981 Papeete, Tahiti, Polynésie française. 62 pp. .

Oppenheimer, Hank. 2010. New Hawaiian plant records from Maui County for 2008. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2008. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 107:33-40.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.