Botanical art
Common names
Stiff Golden Wattle
Notable Wattle
Etymology
Acacia from the Greek 'akakia' and derived from 'ake' or 'akis' meaning a sharp point or thorn and 'akazo' meaning to sharpen. Dioscorides the Greek physician and botanist used the word in the 1st century AD for the Egyptian thorn tree, Acacia arabica. Notabilis from the Latin 'notabilis' meaning remarkable, worthy of note, referring to its appearance.
Distribution and status
Found in the southern part of South Australia except for Kangaroo Island and the South-East, growing in low woodland or open scrub vegetation on brown or shallow calcareous, hard alkaline, red duplex soil. Also found New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Rare in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Tall, glabrous, spreading shrubs to 3 m high with smooth reddish-brown bark and spreading, almost terete branches. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, usually oblique to 15 cm long and 25 mm wide, straight or curved, flat, thick and rigid; glaucous with mid-vein prominent, lateral veins numerous and fine; margins thickened, yellowish vein-like; apex obtuse or acute, narrowed towards the base; glands on upper margin near the base. Flower-spike in axillary racemes, usually shorter than the leaves, consisting of 4-16 globular deep yellow flower-heads. Flowering between July and October. Fruits are brown, narrowly oblong pod to 7 cm long and 10 mm wide; straight, flat but raised over seeds with margins thickened vein-like. Seeds are hard black ovoid seed to 6 mm along and 4 mm wide. Seed embryo type is investing.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between November and January. Collect mature pods that are turning brown, with hard, dark seeds inside. Place the pods in a tray and leave to dry for 1-2 weeks or until the pods begin to split. Then rub the dried pods to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate any unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. This species has physical dormancy that needs to be overcome for the seed to germinate (e.g. nicking or softening the seed coat).
| Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGA MSB | 2,455 (52.7 g) 2,455 (52.7 g) | 39 | 16-Dec-2003 | MKJ9 Yorke Peninsula | 1-Sep-2004 | +5°C, -18°C |
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.