137 
No. 103. 
Acacia pycnantha, Benth. 
The Broad-leaved Wattle. 
(Family LEGUMINOSyE : M1MOSE ,-E.) 
Botanical description. —Genus, Acacia. (See part XY, p. 103.) 
Botanical description. —Species, A. pycnantha , Benth., in Hooker’s London 
Journal of Botany, i, 351 (1812). 
A small or middle-sized tree, quite glabrous; branches terete, or nearly so. 
Phjllodia lanceolate-falcate, obtuse or rather acute, much narrowed towards the base, 3 to 
6 inches long, the larger onps often 1 inch broad in the middle. Coriaceous, 1-nerved, 
penniveined with rmrve like margins, the marginal gland rather large near the base. 
Racemes short, with a few dense globular heads of 50 to 100 flowers, mostly 5-merous, the rhachis 
and peduncles rather stout. 
Calyx shortly lobed, ciliate, usually about § as long as the corolla. 
Petals smooth, glabrous, distinct, or readily separating. ... 
Pod straight or slightly curved, several inches long, about 3 lines broad, flat and rather thin. 
Seeds oval-oblong, longitudinal; funicle not so long as the seed, thickened upwards, either not 
folded, or with one or two very short folds at the base. (B.F1. ii, 365.) 
Botanical Name. — Acacia, already explained (see Part XV, p. 101) ; 
pycnantha, from two Greek words, pyknos, dense, and anthos, a flower; hence 
dense-flowered. 
Vernacular Names. —The “Broad-leaved Wattle” of South Australia; 
called also “ Golden, Black, or Green Wattle.” The term “ Broad-leaved ” is as 
good as any, the names “Golden,” “Black,” and “Green” being applied to quite a 
number of other Wattles. 
I have heard it called “ Plum-Coloured Wattle,” owing to the dark cast of 
the foliage at certain seasons. 
Aboriginal Name. —It was known under the name “ Witch ” by the 
aborigines of Lake Ilindmarsh Station, Victoria. 
Synonyms. — A. petwlaris, Lolim.; A. falcinella, Meissn. 
