Black wattle

Acacia mearnsii is a fast-growing evergreen tree of the legume family reaching 6-15 m tall, with a dark, deeply furrowed grey-brown bark. Unlike many wattles, mature foliage retains true bipinnate leaves throughout life rather than phyllodes; the leaves are dark olive-green, 8-12 cm long, with 8-21 pairs of pinnae each bearing 15-70 pairs of small linear leaflets, and small raised glands along the rachis. Inflorescences are abundant axillary panicles of globose, pale yellow to cream flower heads 5-7 mm across, each composed of numerous tiny perfect flowers. Pods are flattened, constricted between the seeds, dark brown, 5-15 cm long, and finely hairy. Native to south-eastern Australia and Tasmania, it has been planted extensively in southern Africa and South America for its tannin-rich bark and is naturalised in many warm-temperate regions. Flowering occurs in spring.