#3 - South Australia tree identification, needed...!

George Valentine

This is a type of tree that I only saw locally, I believe is an Australian native and an Acacia/Wattle of some nature. They are found from very close to inside town itself and while seem to have been grown wildly do appeared to have been planted in specific places.

Every one of the houses where one of these trees are present, I asked for the tree name and none of them had a clue...!

These tree species have become part of my local timbers list and I have process some of it in all sorts of turning blanks and I need to find out its proper name...!

Interestingly, and at this time of the year here, when acacias/wattles start to flower, this is the only tree that has a totally different green in its foliage and has a very distinct silver reflection from it, which makes it visible and apart from any other greens/trees around...!

The wood colours are just amazing with orange as one distinct one, the bark when dry is thin and very dark, hard as rock...! Spalts at the first contact with soil/moisture and rot in no time. Some of the wood borers and termites enjoy very much to feed from them...!

I have taken these pics, 2 years (around this time) just before I cut it down and the left half of the tree was dead and the trunk had termites so, and if necessary, I will be able to get more pics from others around...!

What Acacia/Wattle from the 800+species in Australia, this one is...???

Cheers
George

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Done it

A bit out of my area, but have a look at this thread it might help.

Acacia| Wattle| Identification Guide.

George Valentine

Thanks, but from the links/info you gave me, I couldn't see it there so, I hope someone else can help out...!

Cheers
George

George Valentine

OK guys,

I have taken some new pics today of some branches I picked-up from one of these trees that I have been trying to identify.

The branches are from from a tree near me that I notice was seeding, something that I don't remember to have seen before on any of the ones I have cut, either because some seed/pods others not or just different times of the year but the trees are from the same species...!

One thing that I have also noticed is that, regardless of the time of the year and if the tree has seeds/pods or not, the leafs show that very different 2 tone green and silverish coloration, not found in any other trees around. On one of the pics, there are some lighter colour leafs at the center of the pic, while I believe they are just new shoots, I don't believe that are what causes that "silverish" reflection seen on some of pics I shown on the opening post.

I hope that these new pics, allow some of you, experts in tree species recognition to make a better identification of what it is...!

Your assistance in these matters, is most appreciated...!

Cheers
George

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derwoodii

Acacia baileyana, commonly known as Cootamundra Wattle, me thinks.

Acacia baileyana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eric Frei

I think could be silver wattle --- acacia dealbata

Referencing via wikipedia is not so good.

Here's the two from a better resource in this country. The silver wattle checks out better for tree size and bark .... but I offer no guarantee.

Acacia baileyana

Acacia dealbata

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derwoodii

Hmm could be right there I took a snap no scope shot at it, they are very similar Baileyana typically don't grow that big too, we'll see what George reckons.

Tis smelly crappy stuff to cut with scratchy nasty dead wood n bark.

George Valentine

Well gentleman, looking into the 2 option offered so far, and seeing all the info and pics available on both, I'm confident to say that, the Cootamundra Wattle fits particularly well, all I know and seen from this Acacia species, including cutting/slicing lots of it, fits also very accurately with the last sentence of derwoodii "Tis smelly crappy stuff to cut with scratchy nasty dead wood n bark."

I believe, I've got the first tree species identified of a number of species that have been extremely difficult to put a name into, for some time now.

I thank you all for your contribution/assistance with the identification of this local native tree that, regardless of the not so pleasant smell while cutting/processing the wood, I'm glad to inform that the wood is very beautiful to say the least for wood turning, including pen making, pics attached...!

Cheers
George

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Done it

Guess you didn't look hard enough.http://riddellscreeklandcare.org.au/Acacia%20key1.pdf

George Valentine

Ha... I was just starting to write a post for you, when I saw your link highlighted on my Google, reminding me that that Acacia name was in fact mentioned in that PDF document. Looking at it again after I saw derwoodii's suggestion/link, I can see why I didn't think that what I was looking for was there. Firstly the pics there didn't ring the bell to me and also the fact that, when I looked at your link, was before I got these recent pics (yesterday), where it kept a fresher image in my head of what I was looking for, has been a while since I cut that tree and even tough I pass through a few on the road often, I din't had the close up touch/image of the leafs and particularly the fruit and pods that I never saw before and as I mention on my post yesterday...!

These are always difficult and confusing issues to deal with, as I'm sure you are well aware.

I did thank everyone that made suggestions, you included so, for any other identification needs I have, you are always most welcome to make a suggestion, give a hint/tip...!

Cheers
George

Victor Lindsay

Looks alot our tamarind (Tamarindus indica), but the seed pods are differant. Natives here boil the seeds and eat them, or make a soup.

FCS8537/HE630: South Florida Tropicals: Tamarind

George Valentine

Hi everyone,

While I'm now pretty convinced the identity of these tree species is Cootamundra Wattle, and the tree that I took the branches for samples, wasn't part of the same tree group, where I cut the original tree from, I went back to the exact spot where I cut the tree and had a look at how all the other ones near looked like, as I mention previously, at that cutting time and on all other occasions where I had some work to do around these type trees, it seems to be always at the same time of the years as I never saw any fruit and or nuts in these trees before (reason for some of the identification difficulty, I had before).

My suspicions were correct, the tree species is the same (no other tree leaf looks like it) and while I wasn't aware of any fruits/pods, etc., all the tree still living on the spot where my first one was cut from, are all showing the exact some fruit as the tree closer to me I used for the recent samples.

However, and looking very closely, I could not see any pods on any of these trees (pics attached). Interestingly, on the vertical pic, you can see a young Cootamundra Wattle growing just beside to where I cut the old tree from. The dry branches seem behind it, are in fact the branches I removed from the tree I cut, as was asked to pile them there for later removal by the tree owners (apparently, never happened, tough...!)

Anyway, and looking at these trees, and looking at all the info and pics I saw on the web under the Cootamundra Wattle, I have no doubt that, the suggestion given by derwoodii, was correct, to which I/m greatly thankful, thanks mate...!

Eric, Done it and others that pitched in, thank you, that's one done out of a few yet to be identifyed...!

So, for all matters & purposes, this case is now "RESOLVED"...!

Cheers
George

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