Bailey acacia leaves: The acacia leaves are small pinnate fern-like leaves made up of tiny blue-green or silver-green oblong leaflets. The identifying feature of the leaves is their short, almost non-existent petioles. Bailey acacia flowers: The Cootamundra Wattle blooms with bright, golden-yellow flowers that look like small puffballs. This acacia variety produces flowers between late winter and early spring. The Silver Wattle is a large evergreen shrub or small tree with silvery-gray twice-compound leaves, golden-yellow globular flowers, and reddish-brown seed pods.

Silver wattle leaves look like mimosa leaves and have pinnate leaves arranged alternately on hairy stalks. The fern-like leaves create dense foliage on a spreading canopy. The Silver Wattle is ideal as a shade tree in garden landscapes.

Silver wattle flowers are large yellow clusters made up of fuzzy globular flowers. The spectacular yellow mimosa flowers bloom profusely on the small tree. Yellow mimosa flowers are so showy that they are often used in cut flower arrangements. Another feature of the Silver Wattle is the long, flattened brown pods that contain several black seeds. The Acacia confusa is a medium shrubby acacia with green, leathery lanceolate leaves and small round furry-looking yellow fragrant flowers.

Also called the small Philippine acacia or Formosa acacia, this large shrub or medium-sized tree grows up to 50 ft. Acacia confusa fruit are dark brown or black twisted or curved pods, each containing eight brown seeds. Also called the Blue Leaf Wattle, the Creeping Wattle is a shrub-like tree with elongated leaves, clusters of bright yellow flowers, and long brown seed pods. Creeping Wattle trees are small shrubby, multi-stemmed trees growing around 6.

Like many acacias, the young tender leaves are bipinnate before becoming long willow-like leaves. The drooping leaf growth gives the Creeping Wattle a weeping look.

The Flax Wattle is a small shrubby tree that grows between 5 and 13 ft. The long leafy stems also produce clusters of pale yellow or creamy-white flowers. Flax-Leaf Wattles bloom in summer and winter. Growing in USDA zones 9 through 11, the small trees thrive in full sun or partial shade. Email Pinterest Facebook Twitter Linkedin. Acacia tree bark. A close up picture of Acacia thorns. Willow Acacia Acacia salicina. Acacia salicina leaves, pods and seeds.

Acacia salicina flowers. Shoestring Acacia Acacia stenophylla. Sweet Acacia Acacia farnesiana. Acacia farnesiana leaves and flowers. Black Acacia Acacia melanoxylon. Acacia melanoxylon leaves and flowers. Bailey Acacia Acacia baileyana. Acacia baileyana flowers and leaves. Silver Wattle Acacia dealbata. Acacia dealbata leaves and flowers. Acacia dealbata immature pods.

Acacia Confusa tree. Other acacias can be low growing groundcover or small shrubs. Do you think you have spotted a species of acacia in your yard or on a hike?

Use the PlantSnap app to identify it! This plant produces gum arabic. This resinous substance has many applications in pharmaceuticals, food science, and traditional medicine. Acacia pycnantha — Golden wattle. The yellow globes of its bloom are actually many small flowers. Acacia genistifolia — Spreading wattle. A wide variety of products use gum arabic.

It comes from multiple species of acacia tree and has a wide variety of applications. These include pharmaceuticals, soda, newspaper ink and even as food. The most common sources of this product is the species Acacia senegal. Many species of acacia including Acacia richardsii produce this product. Gum arabic has historically been an important part of the Sudanese economy. Currently, climate change is threatening this industry by decreasing acacias sap productions.

Acacia trees including Acacia catechu can dye fabrics a dark color. This is due to extracts containing tannins and catechins. These dyes both color and preserve cloths.

It is also used much like gum arabic as an emulsifier. One of the most common uses of acacia is for its wood. This is because it is an extremely durable wood. It also resists water damage and scratching. Because these trees are so fast growing, harvesting acacia wood is sustainable. These features make acacia very popular for woodworking.

Acacias have a surprising tenant on their branches! Many species of acacia have symbiotic mutually beneficial relationships with species of ants. The plants provide ants with food and a home in their thorns. In exchange, the ants kill bacteria, leaf-eating insects, and competing plants. Some species of acacia form a tasty treat on their seeds. Therefore, they convince ants to carry the seeds deep into their colony. Consequently, planting the next generation of acacias!

The ploy may go deeper than just a good ant snack. Research shows the plants may use oleic acid to stimulate corpse carrying behavior by the ants. As a result, the ants carry the bulky seeds home with them. Read more about how ants and plants ended up working so closely together. The tall acacia trees of Africa provide an important food source to Giraffes.

The silhouette of a giraffe eating the leaves of an umbrella-shaped acacia is a classic image. However, Giraffes are now facing the threat of extinction. This essential food source is becoming increasingly important to the ecology of the African savanna. Humans have also begun using acacia trees as food.

The flowers are cream or light yellow in color and may appear in both summer which is December to March in the Southern Hemisphere and winter June to September. In some areas, it can take over and become invasive.

Gum from the green wattle tree can be eaten and is used in jellies. The flowers are also edible. The bark is used for tanning leather. In South Africa, it is considered to be invasive and has earned the nickname "green cancer. Occasionally called prickly Moses, the juniper wattle is a thorny species that can be used as a privacy hedge.

The flowers can be either cream or white. The species name "ulicifolia" suggests that the phyllodes on this shrub are similar to the leaves of gorse Ulex. Previously, it was known as Acacia juniperina.

The kangaroo thorn can be used as a hedge, thanks to its thorny stems that inhibit passage the plant is also called prickly wattle or hedge wattle in some regions.

This shrub works well in coastal areas, as it can tolerate salty conditions. It is regarded as invasive in some areas, including Australia, South Africa, and California. You may also see this named categorized as Acacia armata, Racosperma armata, or Mimosa paradoxa.

Late flowering black wattle grows as either a tall shrub or a small tree. Long spikes of bright yellow ball-shaped flowers appear in winter and spring. Previously, this plant was categorized as Acacia cunninghamii.

Lightwood, also known as scrub wattle or hickory wattle , is a long-lived shade tree with rough grayish bark and twisted seed pods. It can grow as a single-trunk or multiple-trunk tree, and it can colonize into groves by spreading through suckers.

It is very similar to and sometimes mistaken for blackwood Acacia melanoxylon. Sometimes referred to as a hickory tree, it is not a true type of hickory, as those belong to the Carya genus. The wood is used to make furniture. This is a fast-growing, small to medium-sized shrub. As the common and species name indicate, the myrtle wattle's phyllodes are much like the leaves of the myrtle. The flowers are light yellow or white. It features red stems that add color to your yard throughout the entire year.

Myrtle Wattle is also commonly called red-stemmed wattle. Ovens wattle is an extremely fast-growing evergreen shrub or small tree with a weeping habit that is especially striking when the plant is covered in its bright yellow blooms. It is sometimes known as wedge-leaved wattle. Acacia verticulata is a fast-growing arching shrub that can be trained into a small tree.

Prickly Moses has sharp phyllodes that form around its stems in whorls. The name Moses derives from the name mimosa , not the biblical figure. Prostrate acacia, sometimes known as trailing acacia , can be found covering hillsides in southern California.

It is one of the smallest species of acacia and works well as a groundcover because it can blanket an area quickly—it has been planted along many freeways. This growth habit, however, means that it tends to be invasive in some areas.

This species is a small bushy tree with leathery green leaves that turn reddish in winter. Both the red phyllodes and stems make the red-leaf wattle a stand out in the winter garden. A common name for this plant is red-stemmed wattle. The yellow flowers are shaped like balls and are clustered around the stems. The black acacia phyllodes have pinnate leaves at their tips, showing that they are modified petioles. Prickles of cat's claw acacia Senegalia greggii.

Stipular spines of sweet acacia Vachellia farnesiana var. Unlike stipular spines at the bases of leaves, prickles arise from the cortex and epidermis of plant stems. The classic thorns of roses are actually prickles. Computer-generated cladogram of Acacia sensu lato in the broad sense showing five major monophyletic lineages genera in red. The group containing Mariosousa , Acaciella and Faidherbia is Polytomous.

It doesn't resolve into dichotomies. Faidherbia is a monotypic genus that was formerly classified as Acacia albida. Updated generic names follow B. Maslin Faidherbia albida formerly Acacia albida , commonly called winter thorn or apple-ring acacia. Although it has paired stipular spines and pinnate leaves like Acacia species, it is morpholically quite different. Monophyletic cladograms show that it is distinct from Acacia and belongs on a separate monotypic branch clade.

The circular, indehiscent seed pods resemble apple rings. Called "giraffe thorn" and "camel thorn," this species has a pair of sharp painful stipular spines at the base of each bipinnate leaf.

Vachellia farnesiana formerly Acacia farnesiana. Called "sweet acacia" the flowers are very fragrant. This species is naturalized in San Diego County. Vachellia species formerly Acacia. A large-thorn acacia native to Africa. I once thought it was the "whistling thorn" A. Vachellia drepanolobium formerly Acacia drepanolobium. This is the famous "whistling thorn" of Kenya. It has bulbous thorns paired stipular spines occupied by stinging ants of the genus Crematogaster.

Like the Central American acacias, the ants hollow out the soft green thorns for living quarters. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone.

In fact, for most South African acacias, spines alone are no deterrent to giraffes.