Family | Mimosaceae |
Description | Medium-large open shrub with long arching branches. Extremely fast growing and also short-lived. |
Flowering time | Late winter- early spring |
Distribution & botanical details | click here |
Vegetation communities | Dry sclerophyll forest and heath. |
Soil types | Most common on sandy soils derived from sandstone and granite. |
Values/uses | |
-habitat values | Nitrogen fixer and fast primary coloniser. Immature seeds eaten by parrots and cockatoos. mature seeds utilised by ants. Supports large insect populations important to insect eating birds such as wrens. |
-amenity/ornamental values | Spectacular in flower, the relatively large flower heads seem to drip from the racemes. Bark an attractive silvery colour which harmonises with the blue-grey foliage. Be prepared to replant after 5 years. |
-economic/functional values | Very useful primary coloniser for sandy and skeletal soils. An excellent cover crop for frost sensitive species owing to its high frost tolerance and overarching form. |
Tolerances | |
-water deficit | high |
-compaction | low |
-waterlogging | low |
-shade | average-low |
-soil salinity | not known |
-salt spray | not known |
-pH | 5-7 |
-minimum temperature | -8 degrees |
Seed and germination details | |
-avge no. seeds per gram | 32 |
-viability period | long |
-dormancy | physical-hard seed coat |
-treatment | heat treatment/scarification |
-days from first to last germination at 25 degrees | 3-27 |
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