Acacia oswaldii

Tilcayo Cats original · Plants · Sources and editorial assessment · Originals retention rule

Acacia oswaldii, known as umbrella wattle or miljee, is an Australian shrub or small tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is widespread across mainland Australia, including the Northern Territory and every mainland state.

Appearance

The New South Wales flora describes upright or spreading plants about two to six metres tall, with dark grey bark marked by fine cracks. Their narrow, leaf-like structures are phyllodes: flattened leaf stalks with several fine lengthwise veins. Most are three to eight centimetres long, although both shorter and longer examples occur.

Small pale yellow flower heads arise singly or in pairs beside the phyllodes. Each head contains several flowers. The seed pods are tough and strongly curved, twisted or coiled, with raised areas over the seeds. The New South Wales account records pods up to twenty-five centimetres long.

The Victorian flora records a wider height range, from low shrubs to trees reaching eight metres. Its fruit description includes pods up to thirty-one centimetres long and dark seeds with a conspicuous orange appendage.

Habitat and flowering

In northwestern Victoria, the species occurs in sandy or loamy soils containing calcium carbonate. It is widespread but relatively uncommon within that region. VicFlora records flowering from November to January. The New South Wales flora gives October to December; these are regional flowering records rather than a single fixed season for all populations.

Names and conservation

The spelling Acacia oswaldi is recorded as an orthographic variant of the accepted Acacia oswaldii, rather than a separate species. The plant was named after Ferdinand Oswald, who helped collect the original specimen.

VicFlora lists the species as Critically Endangered under Victoria's Flora and Fauna Guarantee framework. This designation applies within Victoria; it is not a global assessment of the plant throughout Australia.