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Acacia penninervis

life science Maturity 5-7 Next article →

The mountain hickory wattle is a special plant from eastern Australia.

People also call this plant blackwood. It can grow as a small shrub or a tall tree. The tree has dark grey bark with deep lines. Its branches are smooth and round. Sometimes, the branches have a fine white powder on them.

This plant does not have true leaves like many other trees. Instead, it has things called phyllodes. These phyllodes act just like leaves to help the plant. They stay green all year long. They are long and thin with a strong vein in the middle. Small veins also run along the edges.

Scientists have studied this plant for a long time. A botanist named Augustin Pyramus de Candolle first described it in 1825. Later, Leslie Pedley changed its scientific name in 1986. In 2006, the name was changed back to the Acacia genus. This shows how scientists keep learning about plants.

You can find this tree in several Australian places. It grows in New South Wales and Queensland. It is also in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. Some parts of the tree also grow in New Zealand. One variety grows near the coast in southern Queensland.

This tree has been useful to people for a long time. Aboriginal people in southern New South Wales used the bark. They would throw the bark into waterholes to catch fish. The bark is not poisonous to people. It is astringent, which means it has a sharp taste. The bark contains about 18% tannin.

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