Acacia lanigera

Acacia lanigera, commonly known as woolly wattle or hairy wattle, is a tree species that is endemic south eastern Australia.

Description

It has an erect or spreading habit, growing up to high, The phyllodes, which may be hairy or glabrous, are up to in length and wide. The bright yellow globular flowerheads appear in the leaf axils from May to October, followed by curved or coiled seedpods that are densely covered with white hairs and are up to long.

Taxonomy

Three varieties are currently recognised:

Acacia lanigera var. gracilipes Benth., occurring in the Wallagaraugh River area in south-eastern New South Wales and Victoria.
Acacia lanigera A.Cunn. var. lanigera
Acacia lanigera var. whanii Pescott, a variety first collected from Skipton, Victoria by William Taylor Whan.

The variety venulosa is currently regarded as a species in its own right - Acacia venulosa.

Distribution

The species occurs in New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. It was first formally described by botanist Allan Cunningham in Geographical Memoirs on New South Wales in 1825. He described it as "a shrub frequent on rocky barren ranges in the interior".

Cultivation

The species prefers a well-drained sunny situation and will tolerate frosts down to −7 Celsius. It is adaptable to use in situations where maintenance is infrequent such as road batters.