Hairy silver wattle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hairy silver wattle |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Acacia
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| Species: |
mollifolia
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
Acacia mollifolia, often called the hairy silver wattle, velvet acacia, or hoary silver wattle, is a special kind of Acacia tree or shrub. It grows naturally in eastern Australia.
What Does the Hairy Silver Wattle Look Like?
This plant can be a spreading shrub or a small tree. It usually grows to be about 1.5 to 6 metres (5 to 20 ft) tall. Its bark can be smooth or have small cracks. The branches are round and have slightly raised, pale grey or rusty ridges.
The leaves are long and thin, with a silvery-grey color. They grow on a stalk that is about 0.2 to 0.7 cm (0.079 to 0.276 in) long and quite hairy. The main stem of the leaf, called a rachis, is 1 to 6.5 cm (0.39 to 2.56 in) long. From this main stem, 4 to 10 pairs of smaller leaf branches, called pinnae, grow out. Each of these pinnae is 0.8 to 4 cm (0.31 to 1.57 in) long.
On each pinna, there are 7 to 27 pairs of tiny, narrow leaflets called pinnules. These pinnules are about 2.5 to 7.15 mm (0.098 to 0.281 in) long and 0.5 to 0.8 mm (0.020 to 0.031 in) wide. They are covered in fine, silvery hairs, which gives the plant its "hairy silver" name.
The plant blooms all year, but mostly from March to May. Its flowers grow in small clusters along the branches. Each flower cluster is a round ball, about 3 to 6 mm (0.12 to 0.24 in) across, and contains 20 to 40 bright yellow flowers.
After the flowers, leathery seed pods grow. These pods are covered in dense, silver-grey-brown hairs. They are mostly straight or slightly curved and look a bit like a string of beads. The pods can be 3 to 12 cm (1.2 to 4.7 in) long and 4 to 7 mm (0.16 to 0.28 in) wide.
Where Does its Name Come From?
The scientific name Acacia mollifolia has a special meaning. The second part, mollifolia, comes from two Latin words:
- mollis means soft or pliant.
- folium means leaf.
So, mollifolia refers to the plant's soft and hairy leaves.
This plant is also closely related to another type of wattle called Acacia fulva.
Where Does the Hairy Silver Wattle Grow?
A. mollifolia is endemic to a specific part of New South Wales in Australia. This means it only grows naturally in this area and nowhere else in the world. Most of these plants are found west of places like Peakhill, Boorowa, and Bathurst, extending towards Rankins Springs.
You can often find the hairy silver wattle growing on sandstone ridges or on flat, fertile lands near rivers. It is usually part of dry sclerophyll forests or woodlands. In these areas, it grows alongside other common Australian trees like different types of Eucalyptus and Callitris (cypress pines).
