Acacia leprosa

Acacia leprosa, also known as cinnamon wattle, is an acacia native to Australia. It occurs in woodland in New South Wales and Victoria. It occurs as a hardy shrub or small tree. The phyllodes (a modified flat leaf-like structure arising through an expanded petiole replacing the leaf blade) are 3–14 cm long and contain oil glands. The lemon-yellow flowers occur as globular heads in clusters in the leaf axils. The fruit is flat seed pod.

Cinnamon wattle
An Acacia leprosa tree found at Longwood Gardens
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Clade: Mimosoideae
Genus: Acacia
Species:
A. leprosa
Binomial name
Acacia leprosa
Occurrence data from AVH

A number of varieties are currently recognised within the species including:[1]

  • A. leprosa var. crassipoda Maslin & D.J.Murphy - type: Pyrenees Range, Victoria
  • A. leprosa var. graveolens Maslin & D.J.Murphy - formerly known as Acacia verniciflua (Southern variant), type: Gippsland Lakes
  • A. leprosa Sieber ex DC. var. leprosa
  • A. leprosa var. magna Maslin & D.J.Murphy - type: Cape Otway, Victoria
  • A. leprosa var. uninervia Maslin & D.J.Murphy, formerly known as A. leprosa (large phyllode variant), type: near Healesville, Victoria

Former varieties include:

  • A. leprosa var. binervis F.Muell., currently included in Acacia verniciflua
  • A.leprosa var. tenuifolia Benth. also known as A. leprosa (Seymour variant), currently included in Acacia verniciflua
  • A. leprosa (Dandenong Range variant), A. leprosa var. elongata Guilf. [nom. inval.] or A. leprosa var. Reclinata, currently known as Acacia stictophylla

The cultivar Acacia leprosa 'Scarlet Blaze' is the only Australian wattle to have red inflorescences (all the rest are yellow or cream-colored, except for Acacia purpureapetala, which has purple flowers). It was discovered northeast of Melbourne, Australia, in 1995, and released commercially in 2001. Acacia leprosa is mentioned in The Australasian Sketcher of Saturday 19 June 1880 in part two of an article on the Mallee Country, as one of the 'beautiful shrubs' found in the region and identified by Mr Guilfoyle, director of the botanic gardens.

Cultivation

The species prefers a well-drained sunny or lightly shaded situation. Propagation is by pretreated seeds or cuttings.[2]

An Acacia leprosa tree

References
  1. "Acacia leprosa". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  2. "Acacia leprosa". Australian Native Plants Society (Australia). Retrieved 31 July 2011.
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