Common name: knife-leaf wattle, dog-tooth wattle, half-moon wattle, golden glow wattle
Acacia cultriformis A.Cunn. ex G.Don APNI* Synonyms: Racosperma cultriforme (A.Cunn. ex G.Don) Pedley APNI*
Acacia scapuliformis A.Cunn. ex G.Don APNI*
Description: Erect or spreading shrub to 4 m high; branchlets angled or terete, glabrous, sometimes pruinose.
Phyllodes ± triangular (the upper margin rounded or angled near middle), ± straight or sigmoidal, 1–3 cm long, 6–15 mm wide, glabrous, green or subglaucous, midvein prominent, lateral veins faint, apex acute with a mucro, base asymmetric; 1 gland on upper margin usually at or slightly below widest part of phyllode (near or slightly below or above middle of the phyllode); pulvinus to 1 mm long.
Inflorescences 2–25 in an axillary raceme; axis 1–8 cm long; peduncles mostly 2.5–5 mm long, glabrous; heads globose to obloid or shortly cylindrical, 3–7 mm long, 13–40-flowered, bright yellow.
Pods straight to shallowly curved, ± flat except raised over seeds, mostly straight-sided to slightly constricted between seeds, 3–10 cm long, 4–7.5 mm wide, firmly papery to thinly leathery, glabrous, often pruinose; seeds longitudinal; funicle expanded towards seed.
Flowering: August–November.
Distribution and occurrence: north from Wagga and west from the Denman-Singleton district, common on the Western Slopes; often cultivated, sometimes naturalised. Grows in woodland, heath and mallee, often in rocky sites.
NSW subdivisions: *NC, *CC, NWS, ST, CWS, SWS, NWP
Other Australian states: Qld
Very variable in phyllode shape and may be confused with Acacia pravissima which has a secondary longitudinal vein. The name refers to the knife-like shape of the phyllodes. A. Cunningham used the name A. scapuliformis to refer to those plants with short, broad phyllodes. There is also variation in the shape of the receptical. The cultivar Acacia cultriformis 'Austraflora Cascade' is a prostrate groundcover. (T. Tame, Acacias of Southeast Australia, 1992).
Text by P.G. Kodela (last updated June 2012)
Taxon concept: P.G. Kodela & G.J. Harden, Flora of NSW Vol. 2 (2002)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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