Flora of New Zealand Series

Tasmanian blackwood

Shrub or tree; twigs ribbed, glabrous to densely hairy. Lvs reduced to phyllodes, alternate; phyllodes glabrous, narrowly obovate, elliptic and symmetric or falcate, usually obtuse, sometimes shortly mucronate, entire, (40)-60-100 × 8-20 mm, with 3-4 prominent veins; stipules triangular, 1-2 mm long, conspicuous in young plants only. Infl. of few to numerous, many-flowered, pale creamy yellow, globose heads; heads solitary or in axillary racemes usually > lvs. Fls 5-merous, sessile. Pod glabrous, twisted or spiralled, 8-10 cm long (up to 4 cm diam.), 5-8 mm wide; aril pink to crimson or red, encircling seed.

N.: Northland, established in vicinity of Auckland City, Hauraki Plains, vicinity of Whakarewarewa and Rotorua, at Halcombe (Manawatu) and near Palmerston North; S.: Christchurch and coastal N. Canterbury, Otago Peninsula, also collected once from Te Waewae Bay, Southland.

E. Australia, Tasmania 1918

Waste places, often coastal.

FL Aug-Nov.

R. melanoxylon is used in forestry and for soil conservation; further establishment can therefore be expected. It can be easily distinguished from other naturalised spp. with large phyllodes by the 5-merous fls in globose heads, and the large aril enfolding the seed (Fig. 70). It has previously been known in N.Z. as Acacia melanoxylon.