Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) Inc. ACACIA STUDY GROUP NEWSLETTER Group Leader and Newsletter Editor Seed Bank Curator Bill Aitchison Victoria Tanner 13 Conos Court, Donvale, Vic 3111 Phone (03) 98723583 Email: [email protected] Acacia brunioides No. 138 September 2017 ISSN 1035-4638 display, could you perhaps let me know and I will put you Contents Page in touch with John. A table and notice board will be supplied for each display. The Conference organisers have pointed out that Tasmanian quarantine regulations make it From the Leader 1 difficult to bring in any plants, but where possible they From Members and Readers 2 would encourage local members to provide samples of any Don Perrin 4 plant material. Common Names of Acacias 5 Previous Study Group newsletters have been available on More on Acacia phasmoides 5 the ANPSA website for some time Acacia gunnii 6 (http://anpsa.org.au/acaciaSG/ASG-news.html). Until Acacia amblygona 7 recently, all newsletters from Newsletter No. 71 (July 1994) Acacias in Namibia 2016/17 7 onwards were available on the website. The library of Acacias in the News 9 newsletters on the website has recently been extended Seed Bank 10 considerably, with the addition of the newsletters numbered Study Group Membership 10 1 to 70 (dating from March 1968 to December 1993), as Wattles and Hay Fever well as 19 unnumbered newsletters (dating from 1961 to Information Sheet 10 1967). Thanks to Sheryl Backhouse and Brian Walters for coordination of this recent project. The set of past newsletters held on the website is now a complete set of all past newsletters with the exception of 6 of the very earliest From The Leader newsletters issued between 1961 and 1963. If there is anyone who has copies of any of these very early Dear Members newsletters, please let me know (I should note that a few years ago I did some extensive searching for these missing The ANPSA Biennial Conference is being held in Hobart in newsletters, but without success). The membership of the January, and registrations close on 15 December. I will not Study Group in its very early days was very small, and very be attending the Conference, but I am sure there will be a few newsletters would have been produced, so I am not number of Acacia Study Group members who will be there. optimistic that we will find these missing newsletters. Each Study Group has been invited to prepare a poster display – the Conference is being held at Wrest Point hotel, Thank you to all members who have paid their membership and a waterfront boardwalk is available during the renewals for the 2017/18 year. If you have not already paid conference week for displays. I am very pleased to advise your subscription, it would be appreciated if you could that one of our Tasmanian members, John Boevink, has attend to this (or let me know if you do not wish to renew). offered to coordinate our Study Group display. However, John would very much appreciate assistance from other Study Group members. If you are planning to be at the Bill Aitchison Conference, and would be happy to be involved with the Acacia Study Group Newsletter No. 138 Page 1 in Jennie’s area) it must be more problematic to determine From Members and Readers whether or not a species has been introduced. Jennie Epstein (Little River, Vic) wrote (27 August 2017) ******** as follows: Maria Hitchcock (Armidale, NSW) comments that it has been very dry, but the wattles have been glorious – she is “I just thought I'd let you know about an Acacia pycnantha I not sure why. She provided the following photo of Acacia planted (grown from local seed) in about 2003. It has grown adunca, taken in her garden. into a rather lovely specimen, and is still flowering profusely every year. It has never set seed as the fruit develops galls, so it seems to be putting most of its energy into growing. This is the only plant of this species in the garden that has grown to anywhere near this dimension, and most start to senesce after about eight years of age. Have other people seen similar occurrences with plants afflicted with galls? I live in Little River, near Geelong, Victoria, and there is some uncertainty as to whether Acacia pycnantha is actually indigenous to this area. I think I read somewhere that early settlers broadcast seed of this species brought in from other locations - even as far as South Australia. It actually appears to be quite weedy on the local grassland dominated volcanic plains, and has taken over in reserves alongside roads and railway lines, dominating indigenous grassland species. Because of the large amount of soil stored seed, controlled burns only knock it back for a few years. I think a concerted effort will be required to increase the frequency of burning to improve the outcome for local wildflowers.” In a subsequent email, Jennie advises that she thinks her A. pycnantha which has been afflicted by the galls must be at least 5m high (and similar width). She recalls a few years ago a green army group assisting the local council with cutting and pasting herbicide on A. pycnantha plants growing in a roadside reserve, so they must see them as being invasive. Acacia adunca Photo: M Hitchcock ******** Thanks to Bill Molyneux for clarifying one aspect of Ian Campbell’s article in our previous Newsletter (No. 137, June 2017), (Australian Botanical Links to Uruguay). In that article Ian made reference to Eucalyptus obliqua L’herit, and stated that it was named after the French botanist L’heritier – Bill points out that the article should have stated that the species was named by L’heritier, not after him. Ian comments that Bill is correct – his article was an early rendering, a few months before he presented his talk in July. Ian notes that the French botanist invited by Banks to work at Kew and who identified the eucalyptus genus and this first species in 1788 was Charles-Louis L’Heritier de Jennie’s Acacia pycnantha Brutelle. Ian then comments further as follows: No doubt in some situations there can be no doubt as to “However, the intriguing aspect is that in the Spanish whether a particular species is native or introduced to a language identification, by Argentinian botanical authorities particular area, but in other situations (such as A. pycnantha in 2002 for the editors of the annotated herbarium and Acacia Study Group Newsletter No. 138 Page 2 facsimile edition of the 1956 Neruda poem and pressed Brendon Stahl (Elliminyt, Vic) reported (11 September plant items, the reference is to Eucaliptus L’Herit (sic). In 2017) on the Acacias flowering in his garden, and on other words, they didn’t recognize the ‘obliqua’ reference, “Wattle Day” celebrations at the Colac Botanic Gardens. as we might in Australian botanical references. “We moved to Elliminyt four and a half years ago which An acacia example – see photo image from the Lussich was virtually a blank canvas in the garden. Arboretum I refer to in the article – showing, inter alia, the seeds of ‘acacia longifolia’; the common name and the I am now seeing the fruits of my planting and have a good botanical name in Uruguay is ‘acacia trinervis’. lot of acacias flowering. Once we move out of Australia what gets emphasized, even In August I had the following acacias flowering:- alata, in botanical terms, can shift, in emphasis and depending on baileyana, beckleri, boormanii, buxifolia, decurrens, the whim of the particular botanist, it seems. dodonaeifolia, drummondii ssp grossus, exemia, genistifolia, iteaphylla, leprosa 'Scarlet Blaze', longifolia, The common name for Acacia dealbata in Uruguay is myrtifolia, podalyriifolia, provincialis, pycnantha, stricta, Aromo/a, a general word also for ‘wattle’, and also ‘acacia suaveolens, verniciflua. dorada’ = ‘golden wattle’.” Up to 11 September, the following have flowered:- acinacea, cognata x verniciflua 'Curtain Call', howittii 'Cranberry Honeybun', lasiocarpa 'Little Lassie'. On 1 September, the Friends of the Colac Botanic Gardens celebrated Wattle Day with a walk, conducted by the Garden’s Head Gardener, Lawrence Towers, looking at all of the thirty three acacias planted in the Botanic Gardens. The Friends Group have produced a brochure detailing where all of the Acacias can be located.” ******** Marion Simmons (Legana, Tas) comments (18 September 2017) that in spite of having some older early plants taken out, her Acacias flowering this year have been quite brilliant and still are. She has a few hybrids amongst them, which is a bit tricky when one comes to give them a name. Marion Lussich Arboretum Photo I Campbell notes that even the local form of A. dealbata that is growing along the highway in with a host of A. baileyana have put on a brilliant show as well – it is a pleasure to see them. ******** ******** Des Nelson (Alice Springs, NT) wrote (6 September 2017) In our September 2016 Newsletter (No. 134) Natalie Peate as follows: (Blackburn, Vic) referred to a low growing form of A. redolens growing brilliantly on the nature strip in front of “We have had no worthwhile rain since February. We had her house. Natalie advises (29 September 2017) that this no wildflowers on the block this season. Trees and shrubs plant was absolutely magnificent at that time, better than are hanging on well except for Sennas which are beginning ever! She notes that passers by stop to admire it and some, to show stress. Two Acacia species have burst into bloom. including her local butcher, want to get one. But it is not They flower at the same time every year with no regard to easy to find in nurseries, and Natalie admits that she has the weather whether it be wet or dry.