Acacia Ligulata

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Common Name:

SANDHILL WATTLE

PLEASE NOTE: Orders are by full tray only. Each tray contains 40 plants. When ordering, please choose how many trays you would like.

WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE:

Grows as an erect or spreading shrub, 2 to 4 meters tall and 3 meters across, sometimes dome-shaped, often branching from the ground.
Bark is often grooved at the base, but is otherwise smooth.
Its branchlets are angular with yellowish ribs, often with hair.
The phyllodes, appearing like leaves, are light to blue green, usually linear-oblong, slightly curved, 3–10 cm long and 4-10mm wide, thick and hairless, and wrinkled during dry periods.
Yellow to orange globular flower heads of 5-6mm diameter, singular or 2 to 5 in short axillary racemes, sit on sparsely pubescent peduncles 4-10mm long. Each flower head consists of about 20 minute flowers.
The seed pods, legumes, are light brown and curved, 5–10 cm long and 5-10mm wide, constricted between the seeds and breaking easily into one-seeded segments. The stalk of the seed pod is orange to red. The seeds appear black and oval shaped, up to 3.5x3.5mm in size, situated longitudinal within the seed pod.

WHERE IT GROWS & WHY:

A. ligulata is found on sand dunes, on the fringes of salt lakes, on floodplains, in mulga and bluebush communities, in woodlands, in mallee communities.

It is found in the hottest and driest climates of Australia with rainfall of less than 200mm and survives light frost.
Found on sand dunes, on the fringes of salt lakes, on floodplains, in mulga and bluebush communities, in woodlands, in mallee communities.
It is found in the hottest and driest climates of Australia with rainfall of less than 200mm and survives light frost.

MANAGEMENT/SIGNIFICANCE:

Fast-growing, it stabilises sand dunes and regenerates quickly after disturbance, such as overgrazing. It is known for potential weediness due to rapid regrowth.
Its roots are host to witchetty grub and food for the larvae of the butterfly Nacaduba biocellata. The phyllodes are eaten by cattle and often defoliated by rabbits around the lower part of the plant. Kangaroos and livestock use the plants as shelter. Herbivores grazing on the seedlings can severely limit regeneration.
Can be used for a hedge and windbreak, to stabilise sandy areas, for revegetation and erosion control, also in areas with salinity or alkaline conditions.

Image Source: Flower - Fagg, M. via Australian National Botanic Gardens

Image Source: Plant - Purdie, R.W. via Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG)

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