Acacia dealbata
Acacia dealbata, the silver wattle, blue wattle[3] or mimosa,[4] is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, native to southeastern Australia in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory, and widely introduced in Mediterranean, warm temperate, and highland tropical landscapes.[5]
Other uses[edit]
The Ngunnawal people of the ACT and Wiradjuri people of NSW used the bark to make coarse rope and string, the resinous sap for glue or to mix with ash to make poultices, the timber for tools, and the seeds to make flour.[22][8]
The timber is useful for furniture and indoor work, but has limited uses, mainly in craft furniture and turning. It has a honey colour, often with distinctive figures like birdseye and tiger stripes. It has a medium density (540–720 kg/m3), and is similar to its close relative blackwood, but of lighter tone without the dark heartwood.
The leaves are sometimes used in Indian chutney.[3]
Invasive species[edit]
In South Africa, the species is a Category 1 weed in the Western Cape (requiring eradication) and Category 2 weed (requiring control outside plantation areas) elsewhere.[23] In New Zealand the Department of Conservation class it as an environmental weed.[24] In Spain, due to its colonizing potential and constituting a serious threat to native species, habitats or ecosystems, this species has been included in the Spanish Catalog of Invasive Exotic Species, regulated by Royal Decree 630/2013, of 2 of August, being prohibited in Spain, except the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, and including its introduction into the natural environment, possession, transport, traffic and commerce.[25] In Portugal, the species makes part of the official list of invasive species (along with other Acacia species).[26] In California, the species is invasive and appears to displace many native species, also threatening the habitat of the endangered Mount Hermon June beetle.[27][28]