Acacia

{{Short description|Genus of plants}} {{About||the former broader circumscription|Acacia sensu lato|other uses}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Eocene|Present}} | image = Acacia baileyana 3, Canberra ACT.JPG | image_caption = ''Acacia baileyana'' Canberra | taxon = Acacia | authority = Mill.<ref name=POWO>{{cite web |title=''Acacia'' |series=Kew Science |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:325783-2#synonyms |access-date=9 December 2023}}</ref> | range_map_caption = Range of the genus ''Acacia'' | type_species = ''Acacia penninervis'' | type_species_authority = Sieber ex DC. (typ.cons.)<ref name=Taxon>{{cite journal |title=Report of the General Committee |year=2006 |journal=Taxon |volume=55 |issue=3 |doi=10.2307/25065657|page=798|jstor=25065657 |last1=Barrie |first1=Fred R. |bibcode=2006Taxon..55..795B }}</ref> | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = List of ''Acacia'' species | synonyms = {{collapsible list| * ''Adianthum'' {{Au|Burm.f.}} * ''Chithonanthus'' {{Au|Lehm.}} * ''Cuparilla'' {{Au|Raf.}} * ''Drepaphyla'' {{Au|Raf.}} * ''Hecatandra'' {{Au|Raf.}} * ''Phyllodoce'' {{Au|Link}} * ''Racosperma'' {{Au|Mart.}} * ''Tetracheilos'' {{Au|Lehm.}} * ''Zigmaloba'' {{Au|Raf.}} |synonyms_ref = <ref name=POWO/> }} }} [[File:Acacia dealbata kz09.jpg|thumb|Bipinnate leaves of ''Acacia dealbata'']] [[File:Acacia penninervis (5368395701).jpg|thumb|Phyllodes of ''Acacia penninervis'']] [[File:Acacia retinodes MucBotGard.jpg|thumb|Flowers of ''Acacia retinodes'']]

'''''Acacia''''', commonly known as '''wattles'''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=Entry: wattle |url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=wattle |access-date=2024-10-10 |website=The American Heritage Dictionary}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Wattle |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/wattle |access-date=2024-10-10 |website=Collins English Dictionary}}</ref> or '''acacias''', is a genus of about {{nobr|{{gaps|1,084}} species}} of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Australasia, but is now reserved for species mainly from Australia, with others from New Guinea, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean.<ref name=POWO/>

The genus name is Neo-Latin, borrowed from Koine Greek {{lang|grc|ἀκακία}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|akakia}}), a term used in antiquity to describe a preparation extracted from ''Vachellia nilotica'', the original type species. Several species of ''Acacia'' have been introduced to various parts of the world, and two million hectares of commercial plantations have been established.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Midgley |first1=S.J. |last2=Turnbull |first2=J.W. |year=2003 |title=Domestication and use of Australian acacias: Case studies of five important species |journal=Australian Systematic Botany |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=89–102 |doi=10.1071/SB01038 |bibcode=2003AuSyB..16...89M |url=https://www.publish.csiro.au/SB/SB01038 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Description == Plants in the genus ''Acacia'' are shrubs or trees with bipinnate leaves, the mature leaves sometimes reduced to phyllodes or rarely absent. There are 2&nbsp;small stipules at the base of the leaf, but sometimes fall off as the leaf matures. The flowers are borne in spikes or cylindrical heads, sometimes singly, in pairs or in racemes in the axils of leaves or phyllodes, sometimes in panicles on the ends of branches. Each spike or cylindrical head has many small golden-yellow to pale creamy-white flowers, each with 4 or 5&nbsp;sepals and petals, more than 10&nbsp;stamens, and a thread-like style that is longer than the stamens. The fruit is a variably-shaped pod, sometimes flat or cylindrical, containing seeds with a fleshy aril on the end.<ref name=RBGS>{{cite web |last1=Kodela |first1=Phillip G. |last2=Harden |first2=Gwen J. |title=Genus ''Acacia'' |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden |place=Sydney, NSW, AU |url=https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&showsyn=&dist=&constat=&lvl=gn&name=Acacia |access-date=9 December 2023}}</ref><ref name=RBGV>{{cite web |last1=Entwisle |first1=Timothy J. |last2=Maslin |first2=Bruce R. |last3=Cowan |first3=Richard S. |last4=Court |first4=Arthur B. |last5=Walsh |first5=Neville G. |title=''Acacia'' |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria |place=Melbourne, VIC, AU |url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/dfe52d12-cc3f-4620-8a9b-ab8361322615 |access-date=9 December 2023}}</ref><ref name=SA>{{cite web |title=''Acacia'' |publisher=State Herbarium of South Australia |place= Adelaide, SA, AU |url=http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/cgi-bin/speciesfacts_display.cgi?form=speciesfacts&name=Acacia |access-date=9 December 2023 }}</ref><ref name=FoA>{{cite web |last1=Kodela |first1=Phillip G. |last2=Maslin |first2=Bruce R. |date=n.d. |title=''Acacia'' |series=Flora of Australia |department=Australian Biological Resources Study |publisher=Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water |place=Canberra, AU |editor-last1=Kodela |editor-first1=Philip G. |url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Acacia |access-date=9 December 2023}}</ref><ref name=mur>{{cite journal |last1=Murphy |first1=Daniel J. |title=A review of the classification of ''Acacia'' (Leguminosae, Mimosoideae) |journal=Muelleria |date=2008 |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=10–26 |doi=10.5962/p.292490 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/279918#page/12/mode/1up |access-date=7 August 2025|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=orch1>{{cite book |last1=Orchard |first1=Anthony E. |last2=Wilson |first2=Annette J.G. |year=2001 |title=Flora of Australia |volume=11A, Mimosaceae, Acacia |publisher=CSIRO |place=Melbourne, VIC, AU |isbn=9780643067172 |at=part&nbsp;1, {{nobr|page {{mvar|x}}}} |language=en }}</ref>

== Taxonomy == The genus was first validly named in 1754 by Philip Miller in ''The Gardeners Dictionary''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Miller |first=P. |author-link=Philip Miller |year=1754 |title=The Gardeners Dictionary |edition=abridged, 4th |volume=1 |page=[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/44045001 25] |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/44045001 }} — only gives the name of the genus. Miller did not validly publish names of species in this book, as he did not consistently use binomial names.</ref> In 1913 Nathaniel Lord Britton and Addison Brown selected ''Mimosa scorpioides'' {{au|L.}} (≡ ''Acacia scorpioides'' ({{au|L.}}) {{au|W.Wight}} = ''Acacia nilotica'' ({{au|L.}}) {{au|Delille}}), a species from Africa, as the lectotype of the name.

==Etymology== The genus name comes from Neo-Latin; Gaspard Bauhin in his book ''Pinax'' (1623) writes it coming from Dioscorides; the Koine term {{lang|grc|ἀκακία}} ''akakía'' is the name he uses for ''Vachellia nilotica'', the original type species growing in Roman Egypt,<ref>{{cite book |last=Bauhin |first=Caspar |author-link=Gaspard Bauhin |date=1623 |title=Pinax theatri botanici Caspari Bauhini |location=Basileae Helvet |page=391 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/14431}}</ref> from {{lang|grc|ἀκακίς}} ''akakis'' meaning "point".<ref name="Sharr">{{cite book |last1=Sharr |first1=Francis Aubi |last2=George |first2=Alex |year=2019 |title=Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings |edition=3rd |publisher=Four Gables Press |location=Kardinya, WA |isbn=9780958034180 |page=56 }}</ref>

The origin of "wattle" may be an proto-Germanic word meaning "to weave".<ref name="aus">{{cite book |last1=Austin |first1=Daniel F. |year=2004 |title=''Florida Ethnobotany'' |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton, FL |isbn=9780203491881 |page=58 }}</ref> First attested about 700, {{langx|ang|watul}} referred to the flexible woody vines, branches, and sticks which were interwoven to form walls, roofs, and fences. Since about 1810, it has been used as the common name for the Australian legume trees and shrubs such as ''Acacia'' species proper, ''Castanospermum australe'', and ''Sesbania'' species that can provide these branches.<ref name=aus/>

===History=== The genus ''Acacia'' was considered to contain some 1,352 species until 1986. That year, Leslie Pedley questioned the monophyletic nature of the genus, and proposed a split into three genera: ''Acacia'' sensu stricto (161 species), ''Senegalia'' (231 species) and ''Racosperma'' (960&nbsp;species), the last name first proposed in 1829 by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius as the name of a section in ''Acacia'',<ref>{{cite book |last=von Martius |first=Carl Friedrich P. |title=Hortus regius ''Monacensis'' |year=1829 |url=https://archive.org/details/hortusregiusmon00martgoog/page/n204/mode/2up| page=188|publisher=In Commission bei F . Fleischer }}</ref> but raised to generic rank in 1835.<ref>{{cite book |last=von&nbsp;Martius |first=C.F.P. |year=1835 |title=Hortus regius ''Monacensis seminifer'' |page=[https://web.archive.org/web/20220110231945/https://seedlists.naturalis.nl/sites/seedlists/files/Munchen%201835%20page%204.jpg 4] |url=https://seedlists.naturalis.nl/sites/seedlists/files/Munchen%201835%20page%204.jpg |url-status=dead |access-date=2020-06-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110231945/https://seedlists.naturalis.nl/sites/seedlists/files/Munchen%201835%20page%204.jpg |archive-date=2022-01-10 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Pedley |first=L. |year=1986 |title=Derivation and dispersal of ''Acacia'' (Leguminosae), with particular reference to Australia, and the recognition of ''Senegalia'' and ''Racosperma'' |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=92 |issue=3 |pages=219–254 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.1986.tb01429.x |pmid=32362685 |pmc=7188348 }}</ref><ref name="orch2">{{cite journal |last1=Orchard |first1=A.E. |last2=Maslin |first2=B.R. |year=2003 |title=Proposal to conserve the name ''Acacia'' (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae) with a conserved type |journal=Taxon |volume=52 |pages=362–363 |doi=10.2307/3647418 |jstor=3647418 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274564212 }}</ref> In 2003, Pedley published a paper with 834 new combinations in ''Racosperma'' for species, most of which were formerly placed in ''Acacia''.<ref name=ped1>{{cite journal |last1=Pedley |first1=L. |year=2003 |title=A synopsis of ''Racosperma'' {{small|(C. Mart.)}} (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae). |journal=Austrobaileya |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=445–496 |doi=10.5962/p.299681 |doi-access=free |jstor=41738994 }}</ref> All but 10 of these species are native to Australasia, where it constitutes the largest plant genus.<ref name=mur/>

In the early 2000s, it had become evident that the genus was not monophyletic and that several divergent lineages needed to be placed in separate genera. One lineage comprising over 900 species mainly native to Wallacea, Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia was not closely related to the much smaller African lineage group containing the type species. This meant that the Australasian lineage, by far the most prolific in number of species, would need to be renamed. This caused controversy between South African and Australian botanists, who both claimed ''Acacia'' as a symbol of their respective nations and wished to retain the name for their respective branch.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robin |first=Libby |title=Symbols of Australia: imagining a nation |date=2021 |publisher=NewSouth Publishing |isbn=978-1-74223-712-1 |editor-last=Harper |editor-first=Melissa |location=Sydney, NSW |page=192 |chapter=Wattle |editor-last2=White |editor-first2=Richard}}</ref>

Pedley's proposed name of ''Racosperma'' for this group had received little acclaim in the botanical community, especially by Australians. Australian botanists proposed a different solution, setting a different type species for ''Acacia'', ''Acacia penninervis'', allowing the largest number of species to remain in ''Acacia'', resulting in the two pan-tropical lineages being renamed ''Vachellia'' and ''Senegalia'', and the two endemic American lineages renamed ''Acaciella'' and ''Mariosousa''.<ref name=Kyalangalilwa>{{cite journal |last1=Kyalangalilwa |first1=B. |last2=Boatwright |first2=J.S. |last3=Daru |first3=B.H. |last4=Maurin |first4=O. |last5=van&nbsp;der Bank |first5=M. |year=2013 |title=Phylogenetic position and revised classification of ''Acacia s.l.'' (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in Africa, including new combinations in ''Vachellia'' and ''Senegalia''. |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=172 |issue=4 |pages=500–523 |doi=10.1111/boj.12047 |doi-access=free |hdl=10566/3454 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

In 2003, Anthony Orchard and Bruce Maslin filed a proposal to conserve the name ''Acacia'' with a different type, to retain the Australasian group of species in the genus ''Acacia''.<ref name=orch2 /> Following a controversial decision to choose a new type for ''Acacia'' in 2005, the Australian component of Acacia sensu lato now retains the name ''Acacia''.<ref name=thiel>{{cite journal |last1=Thiele |first1=Kevin R. |date=February 2011 |title=The controversy over the retypification of ''Acacia'' {{small|(Mill.)}} with an Australian type: A pragmatic view |journal=Taxon |volume=60 |issue=1 |pages=194–198 |url=http://www.iapt-taxon.org/historic/Congress/IBC_2011/Acacia_pragm.pdf |access-date=15 November 2015|doi=10.1002/tax.601017 }}</ref><ref name=brum>{{cite journal |last1=Brummitt |first1=R.K. |date=December 2010 |title=(292) ''Acacia'': A solution that should be acceptable to everybody |journal=Taxon |volume=59 |issue=6 |pages=1925–1926 |doi=10.1002/tax.596050 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2010Taxon..59.1925B |url=http://www.iapt-taxon.org/historic/Congress/IBC_2011/Prop291-292.pdf |access-date=19 November 2015 }}</ref> At the 2011 International Botanical Congress held in Melbourne, Australia, the decision to use the name ''Acacia'', rather than the proposed ''Racosperma'' for this genus, was upheld.<ref name=acaciaresolution1>{{cite report |title=The Acacia debate |publisher=IBC2011 Congress News |url=http://worldwidewattle.com/infogallery/nomenclature/nameissue/melbourne-ibc-2011-congress-news-tuesday-26-july.pdf |access-date=5 May 2016 }}</ref><ref name=acaciaresolution2>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Gideon F. |last2=Figueiredo |first2=Estrela |name-list-style=amp |year=2011 |title=Conserving ''Acacia'' {{small|(Mill.)}} with a conserved type: What happened in Melbourne? |journal=Taxon |volume=60 |issue=5 |pages=1504–1506 |doi=10.1002/tax.605033 |hdl=2263/17733 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Other Acacia s.l. taxa continue to be called ''Acacia'' by those considering the entire group as one genus.<ref name=acaciaresolution2/>

The Australian species of the genus ''Paraserianthes'' ''s.l.'' ,namely ''P. Iophantha'', are deemed its closest relatives.<ref name="Brown">{{cite journal|author=Brown, Gillian K.|author2=Daniel J. Murphy|author3=Pauline Y. Ladiges|name-list-style=amp |year=2011 |title=Relationships of the Australo-Malesian genus ''Paraserianthes'' (Mimosoideae: Leguminosae) identifies the sister group of ''Acacia'' sensu stricto and two biogeographical tracks |journal=Cladistics |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=380–390 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-0031.2011.00349.x |doi-access=free |pmid=34875795|s2cid=85416700 }}</ref> The nearest relatives of ''Acacia'' and ''Paraserianthes s.l.'' in turn include the Australian and Southeast Asian genera ''Archidendron'', ''Archidendropsis'', ''Pararchidendron'' and ''Wallaceodendron'', all Mimosoideae.<ref name=bro>{{cite journal|last1=Brown |first1=Gillian K. |last2=Murphy |first2=Daniel J. |last3=Miller |first3=Joseph T. |last4=Ladiges |first4=Pauline Y. |date=October 2008 |title=''Acacia s.s.'' and its relationship among tropical legumes, tribe Ingeae (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae) |journal=Systematic Botany |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=739–751 |doi=10.1600/036364408786500136 |bibcode=2008SysBo..33..739B |s2cid=85910836 }}</ref>

===Species=== {{See also|List of Acacia species|l1=List of ''Acacia'' species}} The names of more than 1,080 species of ''Acacia'', mostly native to Australia, have been accepted by Plants of the World Online as of January 2025.<ref name="FoA" />

==Fossil record== An ''Acacia''-like {{cvt|14|cm}} long fossil seed pod has been described from the Eocene of the Paris Basin.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Paul |last1=Kenrick |first2=Paul |last2=Davis |year=2004 |title=Fossil Plants |publisher=Natural History Museum |place=London, UK |isbn=0-565-09176-X }}</ref> ''Acacia''-like fossil pods under the name ''Leguminocarpon'' are known from late Oligocene deposits at different sites in Hungary. Seed pod fossils of †''Acacia parschlugiana'' and †''Acacia cyclosperma'' are known from Tertiary deposits in Switzerland.<ref>{{cite book |first=L. |last=Hably |year=1992 |title=Distribution of Legumes in the Tertiary of Hungary |series=Advances in Legume Systematics |volume=Part&nbsp;4, The fossil record |editor1-first=P.S. |editor1-last=Herendeen |editor2-last=Dilcher |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |place=London, UK |isbn=0947643400 }}</ref> †''Acacia colchica'' has been described from the Miocene of Georgia west of the Likhi Range. Pliocene fossil pollen of an ''Acacia'' species has been described from western Georgia, including Abkhazia.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Alexandra K. |last1=Shakryl |year=1992 |title=Leguminosae species from the territory of Abkhazia |series=Advances in Legume Systematics |volume=Part&nbsp;4, The fossil record |editor1-first=P.S. |editor1-last=Herendeen |editor2-last=Dilcher |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |place=London, UK |isbn=0947643400 }}</ref>

Australia's oldest fossil ''Acacia'' pollen are recorded from the late Oligocene, 25&nbsp;million years ago.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Mary E. White |first=M.E. |last=White |year=1988 |title=The Greening of Gondwanana |publisher=Reed Books |place=Australia |edition=reprint |isbn=0730101541 }}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat== Species of ''Acacia'' occur in all Australian states and territories, and on its nearby islands. About 20&nbsp;species occur naturally outside Australia and {{nobr|7 of these}} also occur in Australia. One species (''Acacia koa'') is native to Hawaii<ref name=POWO2>{{cite web |title=''Acacia koa'' |series=Kew Science |website=Plants of the World online (powo.science.kew.org) |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |place=London, UK |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:470659-1 |access-date=10 December 2023}}</ref> and one (''Acacia heterophylla'') is native to Mauritius and Réunion in the Indian Ocean.<ref name=FoA/><ref name=POWO3>{{cite web |title=''Acacia heterophylla'' |series=Kew Science |website=Plants of the World online (powo.science.kew.org) |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |place=London, UK |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:470519-1 |access-date=10 December 2023}}</ref>

They are present in all terrestrial habitats, including alpine settings, rainforests, woodlands, grasslands, coastal dunes and deserts.<ref name=orch1/> In drier woodlands or forests they are an important component of the understory. Elsewhere they may be dominant, as in the Brigalow Belt, Myall woodlands and the eremaean Mulga woodlands.<ref name=orch1/>

In Australia, ''Acacia'' forest is the second most common forest type after eucalypt forest, covering {{convert|980000|km2|sqmi|0}} or 8% of total forest area. ''Acacia'' is also the nation's largest genus of flowering plants with almost {{nobr|{{gaps|1,000}} species}} found.<ref>{{cite web |title=Acacia forest |date=6 February 2017 |website=agriculture.gov.au |series=Department of Agriculture |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |url=http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/forestsaustralia/profiles/acacia-forest |access-date=19 April 2017}}</ref>

== Ecology == Acacia is a common food source and host plant for butterflies of the genus ''Jalmenus.'' The imperial hairstreak, ''Jalmenus evagoras,'' feeds on at least 25&nbsp;acacia species.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kitching |first=Roger Laurence |title=Biology of Australian Butterflies |year=1999 |publisher=CSIRO Pub |isbn=978-0643050273 |place=Collingwood, VIC, AU |language=en-AU |oclc=40792921 }}</ref> Many reptiles feed on the sap, such as the native house gecko in Australia.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Alamy Limited (agency) |title=Flat-headed house gecko (''Hemidactylus platycephalus'') adult feeding on solidified sap of acacia tree. Kafue N.P. Zambia |medium=stock photo |url=https://www.alamy.com/flat-headed-house-gecko-hemidactylus-platycephalus-adult-feeding-on-image67188834.html |access-date=2022-03-25 |via=alamy.com |lang=en }}</ref> The sap is also consumed by bugs (Hemiptera), such as ''Hackerobrachys viridiventris''''<ref>{{cite journal |last=Constant |first=J. |year=2006 |title=Revision of the Eurybrachidae (VII). The Australian genera ''Hackerobrachys'' and ''Fletcherobrachys'' (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Eurybrachidae) |journal=Bulletin de l'Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Entomologie |volume=76 |pages=31–40 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280304218 |via=researchgate.net }}</ref>'' and ''Sextius virescens''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Acacia horned treehopper – ''Sextius virescens'' |website=brisbaneinsects.com |url=https://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_planthoppers/AcaciaHorned.htm |access-date=2023-02-12 }}</ref>

== ''Acacia'' as an invasive species == {{See also|Invasive species of Australian origin #Acacia in southern Africa}}

=== South Africa === At least 16 ''Acacia'' species introduced to South Africa are categorised as invasive. In 1847, Acacia species were introduced to stabilise coastal dunes. In 1864 ''A. mearnsii'' was planted for its tannins; it has now become the most widespread invasive alien tree in South Africa.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Le Maitre |first1=David C. |title=Impacts of Plant Invasions on Terrestrial Water Flows in South Africa |date=2020 |work=Biological Invasions in South Africa |pages=431–457 |editor-last=van Wilgen |editor-first=Brian W. |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-32394-3_15 |isbn=978-3-030-32393-6 |last2=Blignaut |first2=James N. |last3=Clulow |first3=Alistair |last4=Dzikiti |first4=Sebinasi |last5=Everson |first5=Colin S. |last6=Görgens |first6=André H. M. |last7=Gush |first7=Mark B. |editor2-last=Measey |editor2-first=John |editor3-last=Richardson |editor3-first=David M. |editor4-last=Wilson |editor4-first=John R.|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Most are classified as highly invasive, Category 1a or 1b invaders. This means that most activities with regards to the species are prohibited (such as importing, propagating, introducing, translocating or trading) and it should be ensured that species exempted for an existing plantation does not spread beyond its domain.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004: Alien and Invasive Species List |url=https://www.dffe.gov.za/sites/default/files/legislations/nemba_invasivespecieslist_g43726gon1003.pdf |journal=Government Gazette of South Africa |volume=43726 |issue=1003 |pages=37}}</ref>

{{Div col|colwidth=22em}} * Acacia adunca * Acacia baileyana * Acacia cyclops * Acacia dealbata * Acacia decurrens * Acacia elata * Acacia fimbriata * Acacia implexa * Acacia longifolia * Acacia mearnsii * Acacia melanoxylon * Acacia paradoxa * Acacia podalyriifolia * Acacia pycnantha * Acacia saligna * Acacia stricta {{Div end}}

== Toxicity == Some species of acacia contain psychoactive alkaloids, and some contain potassium fluoroacetate.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leong |first1=L.E. |last2=Khan |first2=S. |last3=Davis |first3=C.K. |last4=Denman |first4=S.E. |last5=McSweeney |first5=C.S. |year=2017 |title=Fluoroacetate in plants – a review of its distribution, toxicity to livestock and microbial detoxification |journal=Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology |volume=8 |article-number=55 |doi=10.1186/s40104-017-0180-6 |doi-access=free |pmc=5485738 |pmid=28674607 }}</ref>

== Uses == [[File:Wattle sign. Olive Pink Reserve, Alice Springs.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Wattle sign at Olive Pink Botanic Garden, Alice Springs, Australia in 2005]] The seed pods, flowers, and young leaves are generally edible either raw or cooked.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants |edition=reprint |orig-date= |year=2009 |others=United States Department of the Army (original publisher) |isbn=978-1-60239-692-0 |place=New York, NY |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing |pages=16 |language=en-US |oclc=277203364 }}</ref>

Aboriginal Australians have traditionally harvested the seeds of some species, to be ground into flour and eaten as a paste or baked into a cake. Wattleseeds contain as much as 25% more protein than common cereals, and they store well for long periods due to the hard seed coats.<ref name="tan">{{cite web |last1=Tan |first1=Ria |title=''Acacia auriculiformis'', black wattle |website=Naturia |url=http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/plants/acacia.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=17 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505110838/http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/plants/acacia.htm |archive-date=5 May 2015 }}</ref> In addition to consuming the edible seed and gum, Aboriginal people also employed the timber for implements, weapons, fuel and musical instruments.<ref name="orch1" /> A number of species, most notably ''Acacia mangium'' (hickory wattle), ''A.&nbsp;mearnsii'' (black wattle) and ''A.&nbsp;saligna'' (coojong), are economically important and are widely planted globally for wood products, tannin, firewood and fodder.<ref name=thiel/> ''A.&nbsp;melanoxylon'' (blackwood) and ''A.&nbsp;aneura'' (mulga) supply some of the most attractive timbers in the genus. Black wattle bark supported the tanning industries of several countries, and may supply tannins for production of waterproof adhesives.<ref name=orch1/>

In Vietnam, Acacia is used in plantations of non-native species that are regularly clear-cut for paper or timber uses.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nambiar |first1=E.K. Sadanandan |last2=Harwood |first2=Christopher E. |last3=Kien |first3=Nguyen Duc |year=2015 |title=Acacia plantations in Vietnam: Research and knowledge application to secure a sustainable future |journal=Southern Forests |volume=77 |issue=1 |pages=1–10 |series=Sustaining the future of acacia plantation forestry |doi=10.2989/20702620.2014.999301 |bibcode=2015SFJFS..77....1N |s2cid=84167231 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Tatarski |first1=Michael |date=20 May 2021 |title=Drastic forest development: Vietnam to plant 1&nbsp;billion trees – but how? |website=Mongabay Environmental News |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/drastic-forest-development-vietnam-to-plant-1-billion-trees-but-how/ |access-date=5 November 2023}}</ref>

Wattle bark collected in Australia in the 19th&nbsp;century was exported to Europe where it was used in the tanning process. One ton of wattle or mimosa bark contained about {{convert|150|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=off}} of pure tannin.<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Charles |editor-last=Knight |year=1847 |title=The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge |place=London, UK |volume=II |page=873 }}</ref>

The gum of some species may be used as a substitute for gum arabic, known as Australian gum or wattle gum.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=King |first1=J. |title=King's American Dispensatory |last2=Felter |first2=H.W. |last3=Lloyd |first3=J.U. |publisher=Ohio Valley Company |year=1898 |edition=18th |location=Cincinnati |chapter=''Acacia'' (U. S. P.)—Acacia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nadCAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA9|page=9}}</ref>

===Cultivation=== Some species of acacia – notably ''Acacia baileyana'', ''A.&nbsp;dealbata'' and ''A.&nbsp;pravissima'' – are cultivated as ornamental garden plants. The 1889 publication ''Useful Native Plants of Australia'' describes various uses for eating.<ref>{{cite book |last=Maiden |first=J.H. |year=1889 |title=Useful Native Plants of Australia, including Tasmania |publisher=Turner & Henderson |place=Sydney, AU |language=en-UK |url=https://primo-slnsw.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=SLNSW_ALMA21105097830002626&context=L&vid=SLNSW&search_scope=EEA&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US }}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons}} * {{cite AV media |url=http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/wattle2/ |series=WATTLE |title=Acacias of Australia |medium=Lucid web player}} — multi-access key for identifying Australian Acacias

{{Taxonbar|from=Q81666}} {{Psychedelics}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Acacia Category:Fabaceae genera Category:Mimosoideae