Flora of New Zealand Series

brush wattle

Evergreen shrub to small tree; twigs ribbed, densely hairy. Lvs 2-pinnate, alternate, moderately hairy on rachis, sparsely hairy on lower surface of pinnules; pinnae in 8-15 pairs; pinnules in 20-40-(45) pairs, fairly close set, oblong, acute, entire, asymmetric with one prominent vein closer to upper margin, 5-10 × 1-2.5 mm; petiole 3-8 cm long; stipules minute; usually a solitary gland present on petiole only, sometimes small glands present between 2 uppermost pairs of pinnules. Fls 5-merous, greenish yellow, shortly pedicellate, numerous, in axillary simple racemes much < lvs; bracts subtending raceme, and bracteoles subtending pedicels small, narrow-triangular, caducous. Pod glabrous, straight, 8-15 cm long, 12-18 mm wide; seed dark brown or black, smooth, ellipsoid, c. 7 mm long.

N.: common to locally abundant N. of Waikato, from Bay of Plenty to East Cape, less common in Taranaki, vicinity of Palmerston North, Wellington City and S.W. coastal Wellington Province, also collected from Mohaka R. and Napier (Hawke's Bay); S.: Nelson City, Gore Bay and Port Hills (Canterbury), Otago Peninsula; St.: Halfmoon Bay.

W. Australia 1870

Waste places, scrubland, riverbanks and coastal sites.

FL May-Aug.

Possibly poisonous (Connor 1977).

Brush wattle is an aggressive weed in some areas especially where it is able to seed freely into disturbed scrubland. It is easily distinguished from all naturalised Acacia spp. by the large and robust infls. N.Z. material can be referred to the type subsp. The sp. has been previously known in N.Z. as Acacia lophantha and Albizia lophantha.