Mulga

Acacia aneura, the mulga, is a slow-growing, long-lived evergreen tree or large shrub of the Fabaceae endemic to arid and semi-arid Australia, typically 4-15 m tall with a slender, often crooked trunk and an open, somewhat upturned crown. The bark is rough, longitudinally fissured and grey-brown on older trunks. As is typical of Australian acacias, true bipinnate leaves are absent on mature plants and are replaced by phyllodes - flattened petioles that function as leaves. Phyllodes are highly variable in this species, ranging from terete and needle-like to linear or narrowly lanceolate, 2-12 cm long and 0.5-7 mm wide, grey-green to silvery, finely longitudinally nerved, often resin-coated, and held erect to maximise light interception while minimising heat load. The inflorescences are cylindrical golden-yellow spikes 1-3 cm long borne singly or paired on slender peduncles in the upper phyllode axils, composed of many small, sweetly scented flowers. The fruits are flat, papery, oblong to narrowly oblong pods 1-5 cm long and 5-15 mm wide, with prominent longitudinal nerves and rounded margins; each contains 2-6 hard, dark seeds surrounded by a small aril. Mulga forms extensive woodlands on stony red earths across much of inland Australia.