Acacia carneorum, also referred to as purple-wood wattle, needle wattle, dead finish or by its former scientific name, Acacia carnei, is a plant species in the genus Acacia. It occurs in small populations in far north-west New South Wales and South Australia.

Purplewood Wattle is a small usually multistemmed tree or large shrub to four metres high and eight metres across, commonly found growing in an extensive mound of drift sand due to erosion of the sandy soil environment it prefers.

This wattle is very long-lived, and its ability to resprout (coppice) from exposed roots often has resulted in large clonal colonies of several hectares being found, particularly in areas which have previously been subjected to heavy grazing pressure.

The wattle is characterised by a very hard, durable and attractive purple-coloured heartwood. If not lacquered or otherwise protected from the air within a few weeks, the heartwood darkens to nearly black.

Purplewood Wattle produces flowers after significant rainfall events at any time of the year, but observations of pod production and hence the setting of viable seed, is very rare. Growth rate is very slow. Even at photopoints established for more than 30 years, little change in size of the larger shrubs of this species is evident.

PermeateFree said:

Acacia carneorum, also referred to as purple-wood wattle, needle wattle, dead finish or by its former scientific name, Acacia carnei, is a plant species in the genus Acacia. It occurs in small populations in far north-west New South Wales and South Australia.

Purplewood Wattle is a small usually multistemmed tree or large shrub to four metres high and eight metres across, commonly found growing in an extensive mound of drift sand due to erosion of the sandy soil environment it prefers.

This wattle is very long-lived, and its ability to resprout (coppice) from exposed roots often has resulted in large clonal colonies of several hectares being found, particularly in areas which have previously been subjected to heavy grazing pressure.

The wattle is characterised by a very hard, durable and attractive purple-coloured heartwood. If not lacquered or otherwise protected from the air within a few weeks, the heartwood darkens to nearly black.

Purplewood Wattle produces flowers after significant rainfall events at any time of the year, but observations of pod production and hence the setting of viable seed, is very rare. Growth rate is very slow. Even at photopoints established for more than 30 years, little change in size of the larger shrubs of this species is evident.

I’ve collected this species at White Cliffs and along the way to and from.

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

Acacia carneorum, also referred to as purple-wood wattle, needle wattle, dead finish or by its former scientific name, Acacia carnei, is a plant species in the genus Acacia. It occurs in small populations in far north-west New South Wales and South Australia.

Purplewood Wattle is a small usually multistemmed tree or large shrub to four metres high and eight metres across, commonly found growing in an extensive mound of drift sand due to erosion of the sandy soil environment it prefers.

This wattle is very long-lived, and its ability to resprout (coppice) from exposed roots often has resulted in large clonal colonies of several hectares being found, particularly in areas which have previously been subjected to heavy grazing pressure.

The wattle is characterised by a very hard, durable and attractive purple-coloured heartwood. If not lacquered or otherwise protected from the air within a few weeks, the heartwood darkens to nearly black.

Purplewood Wattle produces flowers after significant rainfall events at any time of the year, but observations of pod production and hence the setting of viable seed, is very rare. Growth rate is very slow. Even at photopoints established for more than 30 years, little change in size of the larger shrubs of this species is evident.

I’ve collected this species at White Cliffs and along the way to and from.

It is not by a long shot the only plant oddity along these roads.

roughbarked said:

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

Acacia carneorum, also referred to as purple-wood wattle, needle wattle, dead finish or by its former scientific name, Acacia carnei, is a plant species in the genus Acacia. It occurs in small populations in far north-west New South Wales and South Australia.

Purplewood Wattle is a small usually multistemmed tree or large shrub to four metres high and eight metres across, commonly found growing in an extensive mound of drift sand due to erosion of the sandy soil environment it prefers.

This wattle is very long-lived, and its ability to resprout (coppice) from exposed roots often has resulted in large clonal colonies of several hectares being found, particularly in areas which have previously been subjected to heavy grazing pressure.

The wattle is characterised by a very hard, durable and attractive purple-coloured heartwood. If not lacquered or otherwise protected from the air within a few weeks, the heartwood darkens to nearly black.

Purplewood Wattle produces flowers after significant rainfall events at any time of the year, but observations of pod production and hence the setting of viable seed, is very rare. Growth rate is very slow. Even at photopoints established for more than 30 years, little change in size of the larger shrubs of this species is evident.

I’ve collected this species at White Cliffs and along the way to and from.

It is not by a long shot the only plant oddity along these roads.

Well if they are oddities, don’t let me stop you from posting them here.

Scrubby looking thing, like lots of wattles. The blackening of the heartwood is interesting.

buffy said:

Scrubby looking thing, like lots of wattles. The blackening of the heartwood is interesting.

Being very hard, it is ideal for making attractive durable items.

PermeateFree said:

buffy said:

Scrubby looking thing, like lots of wattles. The blackening of the heartwood is interesting.

Being very hard, it is ideal for making attractive durable items.

Does it make bits long and straight enough for spears?

buffy said:

PermeateFree said:

buffy said:

Scrubby looking thing, like lots of wattles. The blackening of the heartwood is interesting.

Being very hard, it is ideal for making attractive durable items.

Does it make bits long and straight enough for spears?

No, it would be too heavy for spear, maybe throwing and digging sticks

PermeateFree said:

buffy said:

PermeateFree said:

Being very hard, it is ideal for making attractive durable items.

Does it make bits long and straight enough for spears?

No, it would be too heavy for spear, maybe throwing and digging sticks

I experimented with a bit of blackwood wattle (A. melanoxylon) making myself a small rolling pin for rolling out wonton wrappers. I only needed to whittle it. I have never learnt to do lathe work. I meant to find myself a longer bit last time we were at the bush and forgot. That’s got a lovely colour in the heartwood too.

buffy said:

PermeateFree said:

buffy said:

Does it make bits long and straight enough for spears?

No, it would be too heavy for spear, maybe throwing and digging sticks

I experimented with a bit of blackwood wattle (A. melanoxylon) making myself a small rolling pin for rolling out wonton wrappers. I only needed to whittle it. I have never learnt to do lathe work. I meant to find myself a longer bit last time we were at the bush and forgot. That’s got a lovely colour in the heartwood too.

A popular furniture timber.

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

roughbarked said:

I’ve collected this species at White Cliffs and along the way to and from.

It is not by a long shot the only plant oddity along these roads.

Well if they are oddities, don’t let me stop you from posting them here.

I’ll have a dig though my photos? Maybe this?

buffy said:

Scrubby looking thing, like lots of wattles. The blackening of the heartwood is interesting.

buffy said:

PermeateFree said:

buffy said:

Scrubby looking thing, like lots of wattles. The blackening of the heartwood is interesting.

Being very hard, it is ideal for making attractive durable items.

Does it make bits long and straight enough for spears?

No.

PermeateFree said:

buffy said:

PermeateFree said:

No, it would be too heavy for spear, maybe throwing and digging sticks

I experimented with a bit of blackwood wattle (A. melanoxylon) making myself a small rolling pin for rolling out wonton wrappers. I only needed to whittle it. I have never learnt to do lathe work. I meant to find myself a longer bit last time we were at the bush and forgot. That’s got a lovely colour in the heartwood too.

A popular furniture timber.

Yes. We have a wall in our lounge room done in blackwood salvaged from our bush block after the bushfire in 2005. We waited a couple of years to see who was going to survive and then cut some of the big blackwoods that didn’t. Very heavy. We had to winch the trunks onto the ute. A local timber miller milled them for us and then we dried them for quite some time. Then when we extended our loungeroom and put the verandah on the house, we discussed with the builder how to use them. He did a beautiful wall of vertical pieces. I did the varnishing. It was extremely satisfying to watch the grain come out.

Acacia has such a huge variety of forms, from ground covers to tall trees. Some are short-lived whilst others live for many decades. You can get prickly foliage or soft weeping types. Here are a few small species from mallee areas in WA.

Acacia binata

Acacia camptoclada

Acacia curvata

Acacia dermatophylla

Acacia erinacea

buffy said:

PermeateFree said:

buffy said:

I experimented with a bit of blackwood wattle (A. melanoxylon) making myself a small rolling pin for rolling out wonton wrappers. I only needed to whittle it. I have never learnt to do lathe work. I meant to find myself a longer bit last time we were at the bush and forgot. That’s got a lovely colour in the heartwood too.

A popular furniture timber.

Yes. We have a wall in our lounge room done in blackwood salvaged from our bush block after the bushfire in 2005. We waited a couple of years to see who was going to survive and then cut some of the big blackwoods that didn’t. Very heavy. We had to winch the trunks onto the ute. A local timber miller milled them for us and then we dried them for quite some time. Then when we extended our loungeroom and put the verandah on the house, we discussed with the builder how to use them. He did a beautiful wall of vertical pieces. I did the varnishing. It was extremely satisfying to watch the grain come out.

Any pics?

More small wattles of the WA Mallee.

Acacia excentrica

Acacia fragilis Foliage is quite soft and flexible.

Acacia glaucoptera with bright red new growth.

Acacia lachnophylla

Acacia maxwellii, foliage firm but not prickly.

PermeateFree said:

More small wattles of the WA Mallee.

Acacia excentrica

Acacia fragilis Foliage is quite soft and flexible.

Acacia glaucoptera with bright red new growth.

Acacia lachnophylla

Acacia maxwellii, foliage firm but not prickly.

nice

Acacia mutabilis subsp. angustifolia

Acacia pachyphylla, small plant with very large seed pods

Acacia pravifolia

Acacia pritzeliana

Acacia profusa

PermeateFree said:

buffy said:

PermeateFree said:

A popular furniture timber.

Yes. We have a wall in our lounge room done in blackwood salvaged from our bush block after the bushfire in 2005. We waited a couple of years to see who was going to survive and then cut some of the big blackwoods that didn’t. Very heavy. We had to winch the trunks onto the ute. A local timber miller milled them for us and then we dried them for quite some time. Then when we extended our loungeroom and put the verandah on the house, we discussed with the builder how to use them. He did a beautiful wall of vertical pieces. I did the varnishing. It was extremely satisfying to watch the grain come out.

Any pics?

I’ll try to remember to take a picture today.

Here we go. The Blackwood Wall.

During construction, 2008.

And now it has matured. It actually looks darker than in the photo. And it’s not clear like that, it’s usually got a couple of armchairs in front of it.

buffy said:

Here we go. The Blackwood Wall.

During construction, 2008.

And now it has matured. It actually looks darker than in the photo. And it’s not clear like that, it’s usually got a couple of armchairs in front of it.

Lovely!

:)

buffy said:

Here we go. The Blackwood Wall.

During construction, 2008.

And now it has matured. It actually looks darker than in the photo. And it’s not clear like that, it’s usually got a couple of armchairs in front of it.

You can see why they use it for furniture, nice.

PermeateFree said:

More small wattles of the WA Mallee.

Acacia excentrica

Acacia fragilis Foliage is quite soft and flexible.

Acacia glaucoptera with bright red new growth.

Acacia lachnophylla

Acacia maxwellii, foliage firm but not prickly.

Are the flowers of A. maxwellii, white with gold tips?

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

More small wattles of the WA Mallee.

Acacia excentrica

Acacia fragilis Foliage is quite soft and flexible.

Acacia glaucoptera with bright red new growth.

Acacia lachnophylla

Acacia maxwellii, foliage firm but not prickly.

Are the flowers of A. maxwellii, white with gold tips?

Acacia maxwellii flowers

Acacia sorophylla with very stiff weeping branches.

Acacia sphacelata subsp. recurva

Acacia sulcata var. platyphylla

Acacia tetraptera

Acacia spp. have highly diverse foliage and pods.

Acacia aemula subsp. aemula, occurs in our local heathland, but without flowers you would never find it. It also has the most unusual 4 cornered pods.

Acacia crassuloides with inflated (succulent) phyllodes

Acacia delphina, so named because of the dolphin shaped phyllodes.

Acacia erinacea, this species is very prickly and difficult to handle, it has the flattish unarmed phyllodes, but viciously hooked thorns. However it does have redeeming features with the bright red pods and new growth. I think it quite engaging.

PermeateFree said:

Acacia erinacea, this species is very prickly and difficult to handle, it has the flattish unarmed phyllodes, but viciously hooked thorns. However it does have redeeming features with the bright red pods and new growth. I think it quite engaging.

These things are worse than grasses! Too many of them. But they are at least more different from each other than grasses.

:)

PermeateFree said:

Acacia erinacea, this species is very prickly and difficult to handle, it has the flattish unarmed phyllodes, but viciously hooked thorns. However it does have redeeming features with the bright red pods and new growth. I think it quite engaging.

Lovely. Nice colour.

My wattles are bigger than yours.

Acacia glaucoptera, reasonably common in near coastal habitats.

sarahs mum said:

PermeateFree said:

Acacia erinacea, this species is very prickly and difficult to handle, it has the flattish unarmed phyllodes, but viciously hooked thorns. However it does have redeeming features with the bright red pods and new growth. I think it quite engaging.

Lovely. Nice colour.

My wattles are bigger than yours.

SCIENCE said:

sarahs mum said:

PermeateFree said:

Acacia erinacea, this species is very prickly and difficult to handle, it has the flattish unarmed phyllodes, but viciously hooked thorns. However it does have redeeming features with the bright red pods and new growth. I think it quite engaging.

Lovely. Nice colour.

My wattles are bigger than yours.

:)

PermeateFree said:

Acacia glaucoptera, reasonably common in near coastal habitats.

I recognize that one. Mum bought one and planted it in her garden at Box Hill in Melbourne.

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

More small wattles of the WA Mallee.

Acacia excentrica

Acacia fragilis Foliage is quite soft and flexible.

Acacia glaucoptera with bright red new growth.

Acacia lachnophylla

Acacia maxwellii, foliage firm but not prickly.

Are the flowers of A. maxwellii, white with gold tips?

Acacia maxwellii flowers

Thank ye.

PermeateFree said:

Acacia spp. have highly diverse foliage and pods.

Acacia aemula subsp. aemula, occurs in our local heathland, but without flowers you would never find it. It also has the most unusual 4 cornered pods.

That is awesome. Thanks.

buffy said:

PermeateFree said:

Acacia glaucoptera, reasonably common in near coastal habitats.

I recognize that one. Mum bought one and planted it in her garden at Box Hill in Melbourne.

I’ve got it in my garden too.

PermeateFree said:

Acacia glaucoptera, reasonably common in near coastal habitats.

That is an unusual leaf structure. I’m familiar with the “glauc” prefix (blue-grey), but searched for “optera”. It refers to wings, with the first part of the name describing the type of wings

PermeateFree said:

Acacia dermatophylla

I like the foliage on this one. It reminds me of the Persoonia levis we have here in our local bushland. From what I can gather, “dermatophylla” means skin-like leaves.

Acacia improcera, which has long sharp thorns, but with small unarmed flat phyllodes either side. The long thorns are probably a defense mechanism to stop animals eating the small phyllodes. However, sharp thorny wattles do not dominate being greatly outnumbered by wattles with harmless phyllodes. The sharp (pungent) ones do tend to be more common the further inland you go and are a drought resistant feature.

Acacia laricina var. crassifolia, another wattle with very stiff and sharp phyllodes (more so than it looks). A small colony growing in a very dry mallee location with sparse other vegetation. An interesting growth habit with widely spaced branches, long phyllodes and the few scattered pale flowers.

lot of nice pictures, of plants i’ve never seen, never probably see otherwise

Acacia lasiocalyx, not only does it have soft long pendulous, glossy green phyllodes, it has an attractive smooth rosy brown trunk and golden rod flowers. This species has a very open spindly growth that offers little resistance to strong winds when it will just bend to it. Interestingly, it often grows around the edge of low rocky outcrops that cannot normally be seen, which themselves provide a different less common habitat to explore.

PermeateFree said:

Acacia lasiocalyx, not only does it have soft long pendulous, glossy green phyllodes, it has an attractive smooth rosy brown trunk and golden rod flowers. This species has a very open spindly growth that offers little resistance to strong winds when it will just bend to it. Interestingly, it often grows around the edge of low rocky outcrops that cannot normally be seen, which themselves provide a different less common habitat to explore.

Are these all your photos of local Acacias?

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

Acacia lasiocalyx, not only does it have soft long pendulous, glossy green phyllodes, it has an attractive smooth rosy brown trunk and golden rod flowers. This species has a very open spindly growth that offers little resistance to strong winds when it will just bend to it. Interestingly, it often grows around the edge of low rocky outcrops that cannot normally be seen, which themselves provide a different less common habitat to explore.

Are these all your photos of local Acacias?

Yes, all taken within 160 km of Esperance.

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

Acacia lasiocalyx, not only does it have soft long pendulous, glossy green phyllodes, it has an attractive smooth rosy brown trunk and golden rod flowers. This species has a very open spindly growth that offers little resistance to strong winds when it will just bend to it. Interestingly, it often grows around the edge of low rocky outcrops that cannot normally be seen, which themselves provide a different less common habitat to explore.

Are these all your photos of local Acacias?

Yes, all taken within 160 km of Esperance.

Very good series. Thanks.
This is what is flowering now or is this taken over a longer period of time?

I have been to Esperance but only for an afternoon once back in 1982.

Acacia pravifolia, there are a number of wattles with these interesting looking broadly triangular phyllodes with a hump on the upper margin. In recent years there was a study done to sort them out as many were being misidentified, but all imo are appealing and attention grabbing.

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

Are these all your photos of local Acacias?

Yes, all taken within 160 km of Esperance.

Very good series. Thanks.
This is what is flowering now or is this taken over a longer period of time?

I have been to Esperance but only for an afternoon once back in 1982.

Most wattles in the drier parts to the north of Esperance tend to flower during winter/spring, with others closer to the coast and it being cooler, plus with a higher rainfall can extend that flowering time.

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

Yes, all taken within 160 km of Esperance.

Very good series. Thanks.
This is what is flowering now or is this taken over a longer period of time?

I have been to Esperance but only for an afternoon once back in 1982.

Most wattles in the drier parts to the north of Esperance tend to flower during winter/spring, with others closer to the coast and it being cooler, plus with a higher rainfall can extend that flowering time.

Yes there is almost a wattle for every day of the year. somewhere.

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

Very good series. Thanks.
This is what is flowering now or is this taken over a longer period of time?

I have been to Esperance but only for an afternoon once back in 1982.

Most wattles in the drier parts to the north of Esperance tend to flower during winter/spring, with others closer to the coast and it being cooler, plus with a higher rainfall can extend that flowering time.

Yes there is almost a wattle for every day of the year. somewhere.

roughbarked said:

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

Most wattles in the drier parts to the north of Esperance tend to flower during winter/spring, with others closer to the coast and it being cooler, plus with a higher rainfall can extend that flowering time.

Yes there is almost a wattle for every day of the year. somewhere.

Nice photos. That is the advantage of growing plants in your garden where they are generally more protected and better looked after than those growing in the wild. The State Herbaria will not accept home grown plants for that reason. Still they do provide some very nifty photos.

Speaking of blackwood.

roughbarked said:

Speaking of blackwood.

There is also something about growing your own.
You get to see it all in action.

Acacia sorophylla, I am very attracted to this little plant with its eye-catching growth habit. The branches are very stiff and pendulous and will not move a fraction even on the windiest of days. The phyllodes are very small and succulent and the flower balls hug the stems. A very tough little plant often found on powered limestone in very hot dry locations to the NE of Esperance.

PermeateFree said:

Acacia sorophylla, I am very attracted to this little plant with its eye-catching growth habit. The branches are very stiff and pendulous and will not move a fraction even on the windiest of days. The phyllodes are very small and succulent and the flower balls hug the stems. A very tough little plant often found on powered limestone in very hot dry locations to the NE of Esperance.

That’s a keeper.

I mean I am a gardener who over my life has graduated from growing everything from cress to corn in the rings my parents cut in the lawn around the small fruit ttrees of my childhood.
If only I could live long enough to grow and examine every single native plant in all it’s growing forms and habits in all conditions. Mine are rather harsh if relying upon nature to nourish.

roughbarked said:

roughbarked said:

Speaking of blackwood.

There is also something about growing your own.
You get to see it all in action.

That’s true, but my greatest thrills are the exploration and discovery, then to add an extra dimension, keying them out to find their status.

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

roughbarked said:

Speaking of blackwood.

There is also something about growing your own.
You get to see it all in action.

That’s true, but my greatest thrills are the exploration and discovery, then to add an extra dimension, keying them out to find their status.

Sometimes I have trouble with that especially among such as the Acacias and the Eucalypts. I purchased the book about examining Eucalypt seed under a microscope. yeah.

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

Acacia sorophylla, I am very attracted to this little plant with its eye-catching growth habit. The branches are very stiff and pendulous and will not move a fraction even on the windiest of days. The phyllodes are very small and succulent and the flower balls hug the stems. A very tough little plant often found on powered limestone in very hot dry locations to the NE of Esperance.

That’s a keeper.

I mean I am a gardener who over my life has graduated from growing everything from cress to corn in the rings my parents cut in the lawn around the small fruit ttrees of my childhood.
If only I could live long enough to grow and examine every single native plant in all it’s growing forms and habits in all conditions. Mine are rather harsh if relying upon nature to nourish.

Where you are, you probably would be able to grow most of the WA mallee vegetation, whereas for most city people they are very difficult and usually don’t survive.

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

There is also something about growing your own.
You get to see it all in action.

That’s true, but my greatest thrills are the exploration and discovery, then to add an extra dimension, keying them out to find their status.

Sometimes I have trouble with that especially among such as the Acacias and the Eucalypts. I purchased the book about examining Eucalypt seed under a microscope. yeah.

Ian Brooker told me he could ID eucalypts from seed.

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

Acacia sorophylla, I am very attracted to this little plant with its eye-catching growth habit. The branches are very stiff and pendulous and will not move a fraction even on the windiest of days. The phyllodes are very small and succulent and the flower balls hug the stems. A very tough little plant often found on powered limestone in very hot dry locations to the NE of Esperance.

That’s a keeper.

I mean I am a gardener who over my life has graduated from growing everything from cress to corn in the rings my parents cut in the lawn around the small fruit ttrees of my childhood.
If only I could live long enough to grow and examine every single native plant in all it’s growing forms and habits in all conditions. Mine are rather harsh if relying upon nature to nourish.

Where you are, you probably would be able to grow most of the WA mallee vegetation, whereas for most city people they are very difficult and usually don’t survive.

This be true indeed. However there are these differences. Many WA species grow in pure deep sands or laterite, even buried in sand as like in the Barrens NP.
Climatically I’m OK as long as I am able to add water. However, I’m sitting on pure calcrete.

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

That’s true, but my greatest thrills are the exploration and discovery, then to add an extra dimension, keying them out to find their status.

Sometimes I have trouble with that especially among such as the Acacias and the Eucalypts. I purchased the book about examining Eucalypt seed under a microscope. yeah.

Ian Brooker told me he could ID eucalypts from seed.

He wrote the book I am talking about.

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

That’s a keeper.

I mean I am a gardener who over my life has graduated from growing everything from cress to corn in the rings my parents cut in the lawn around the small fruit ttrees of my childhood.
If only I could live long enough to grow and examine every single native plant in all it’s growing forms and habits in all conditions. Mine are rather harsh if relying upon nature to nourish.

Where you are, you probably would be able to grow most of the WA mallee vegetation, whereas for most city people they are very difficult and usually don’t survive.

This be true indeed. However there are these differences. Many WA species grow in pure deep sands or laterite, even buried in sand as like in the Barrens NP.
Climatically I’m OK as long as I am able to add water. However, I’m sitting on pure calcrete.

They are very similar to the NE of Esperance, to the NW you get the deeper sandy or draining gravel soils

here is a rather rare local wattle which has been kiiled out wherever I knew it to exist, yet I have a small population planted within my space by well, moi. Streaked wattle or Acacia lineata.

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

Sometimes I have trouble with that especially among such as the Acacias and the Eucalypts. I purchased the book about examining Eucalypt seed under a microscope. yeah.

Ian Brooker told me he could ID eucalypts from seed.

He wrote the book I am talking about.

That’s good because at the time I was having considerable trouble keying them out (before he published his WA Vol.2 Eucalypts) and I said I wish he would. He passed about 4 years ago, A great botanist that used geographical location on wide ranging species to bring some rationality to the subject. He got into some remote locations too, I found a few of his metal tags attached to plants way out where very few people ever went.

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

roughbarked said:

Yes there is almost a wattle for every day of the year. somewhere.

Nice photos. That is the advantage of growing plants in your garden where they are generally more protected and better looked after than those growing in the wild. The State Herbaria will not accept home grown plants for that reason. Still they do provide some very nifty photos.

I oft wonder as we all may well might. What if.. there are no more doing what they would have done in their natural environment?

due to? well we are the fucker uppers.

My daughter being the director of education at the national botanic gardens is no accident.

I’ve had my own plant zoos for sixty odd years now.

roughbarked said:

here is a rather rare local wattle which has been kiiled out wherever I knew it to exist, yet I have a small population planted within my space by well, moi. Streaked wattle or Acacia lineata.

That’s good, it would be excellent if you could extend its range a little to give it a better chance of long term survival.

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

Ian Brooker told me he could ID eucalypts from seed.

He wrote the book I am talking about.

That’s good because at the time I was having considerable trouble keying them out (before he published his WA Vol.2 Eucalypts) and I said I wish he would. He passed about 4 years ago, A great botanist that used geographical location on wide ranging species to bring some rationality to the subject. He got into some remote locations too, I found a few of his metal tags attached to plants way out where very few people ever went.

Here’s an anecdote.
I’ve been involved in projects with the unemployed several times iin my life and I’d once set this odd lot off in groups to identify and tag plants in a long forgotten reserve. Was walking around after them to see if they had got what I had taught them to do. came across an old tyre that had decayed with wires showing, attached was a tag that said Tyrus blackus.

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

here is a rather rare local wattle which has been kiiled out wherever I knew it to exist, yet I have a small population planted within my space by well, moi. Streaked wattle or Acacia lineata.

That’s good, it would be excellent if you could extend its range a little to give it a better chance of long term survival.

This my friend is what I do.

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

He wrote the book I am talking about.

That’s good because at the time I was having considerable trouble keying them out (before he published his WA Vol.2 Eucalypts) and I said I wish he would. He passed about 4 years ago, A great botanist that used geographical location on wide ranging species to bring some rationality to the subject. He got into some remote locations too, I found a few of his metal tags attached to plants way out where very few people ever went.

Here’s an anecdote.
I’ve been involved in projects with the unemployed several times iin my life and I’d once set this odd lot off in groups to identify and tag plants in a long forgotten reserve. Was walking around after them to see if they had got what I had taught them to do. came across an old tyre that had decayed with wires showing, attached was a tag that said Tyrus blackus.

Bloody comedians everywhere.

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

Ian Brooker told me he could ID eucalypts from seed.

He wrote the book I am talking about.

That’s good because at the time I was having considerable trouble keying them out (before he published his WA Vol.2 Eucalypts) and I said I wish he would. He passed about 4 years ago, A great botanist that used geographical location on wide ranging species to bring some rationality to the subject. He got into some remote locations too, I found a few of his metal tags attached to plants way out where very few people ever went.

If I recall correctly the book was co-authored Brooker and Kleinig.

Acacia rigens





https://www.flickr.com/photos/roughbarked/6102726756/in/photolist-d2BCrJ-akpkoV-aihUyf-aih53Q-8vpjWi-8vpene-8vrnA9-8vogXg

In the comment there is a hint that this is one of the many plantings of the trees grown by my own had which were planted by educating the unemployed. Back in 1970’s I applied and got the job of remotivating those supposed unmotivated people that were in those days referred by the community at the time as dole bludgers. It was also my job to get out there and educate the community that it wasn’t that they didn’t want to work. All they really needed was to be noticed and appreciated for what they could actually do well.

roughbarked said:

In the comment there is a hint that this is one of the many plantings of the trees grown by my own had which were planted by educating the unemployed. Back in 1970’s I applied and got the job of remotivating those supposed unmotivated people that were in those days referred by the community at the time as dole bludgers. It was also my job to get out there and educate the community that it wasn’t that they didn’t want to work. All they really needed was to be noticed and appreciated for what they could actually do well.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/roughbarked/4927208299/in/album-72157624808459944/

PermeateFree said:

Acacia lasiocalyx, not only does it have soft long pendulous, glossy green phyllodes, it has an attractive smooth rosy brown trunk and golden rod flowers. This species has a very open spindly growth that offers little resistance to strong winds when it will just bend to it. Interestingly, it often grows around the edge of low rocky outcrops that cannot normally be seen, which themselves provide a different less common habitat to explore.

Oh dear, my brain read A. laxadaisical there. Probably because of the first picture.

:)

roughbarked said:

PermeateFree said:

roughbarked said:

Very good series. Thanks.
This is what is flowering now or is this taken over a longer period of time?

I have been to Esperance but only for an afternoon once back in 1982.

Most wattles in the drier parts to the north of Esperance tend to flower during winter/spring, with others closer to the coast and it being cooler, plus with a higher rainfall can extend that flowering time.

Yes there is almost a wattle for every day of the year. somewhere.

A friend of ours planted a circular bed of wattles set out to flower “around the year”. It wasn’t tremendously successful – the wattles tended to do their own thing once out of their native habitat and didn’t want to conform to the time line.

roughbarked said:

Speaking of blackwood.

That doesn’t look like the A. melanoxylon we were discussing earlier. Even for juvenile leaves. What is that in your picture?

Acacia pachypoda is an extremely vicious plant with strong stiff phyllodes ending in a very sharp point, not only that but the ends of each branch also ends in a sharp point. Even with a long sharp knife obtaining a specimen was very difficult and bloody. However between all this armament, very soft and delicate flowers are produced. It grows in a harsh dry powdered clay, kept that way by the mixed powdered limestone.

Acacia tetraptera is one of the most unusual wattles with attractive X shaped phyllodes. Not common but small colonies can be found in coarse sand and orange clay soil, often associated with hydrothermal activity. The pods are thin and form twirly coils nematode like.

PermeateFree said:

Acacia tetraptera is one of the most unusual wattles with attractive X shaped phyllodes. Not common but small colonies can be found in coarse sand and orange clay soil, often associated with hydrothermal activity. The pods are thin and form twirly coils nematode like.

Nice.

Acacia unifissilis, is a small shrub often with stiff strongly recurved phyllodes that grow directly from the branchlets, so will never fall as there is no joint (articulated). Plants in some areas the phyllodes can recurve into hook shapes, whilst in other colonies they can be almost straight. The ones shown are in the middle. The flowers are nevertheless bright and profuse.

PermeateFree said:

Acacia tetraptera is one of the most unusual wattles with attractive X shaped phyllodes. Not common but small colonies can be found in coarse sand and orange clay soil, often associated with hydrothermal activity. The pods are thin and form twirly coils nematode like.

That is very tiny. And pretty.