Species

Paraserianthes lophantha

Common Name(s)

brush wattle

Authority

Paraserianthes lophantha (Willd.) I.C.Nielsen

Family

Fabaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

PARLOP

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Habitat

Prefers disturbed open land, especially scrubland, riverbanks and coastal sites, but can persist in low forest for many years.

Features

Evergreen shrub to small tree with hairy ribbed twigs. Leaves alternate and 2-pinnate, pinnae in 8-15 pairs; pinnules in 20-40 pairs, petiole 3-8 cm long, stipules minute. Numerous greenish-yellow flowers arranged in a cylindrical inflorescence. Seed pod without any hairs, straight, up to 15cm x 18mm. Numerous dark brown or black seeds in each pod.

Similar Taxa

Easily distinguished from all Acacia species by the large and robust inflorescences. Similar in general appearance to Albizia julibrissin, but this species is deciduous, has glabrous twigs and pink globbose flowers.

Flowering

May, June, July, August

Flower Colours

Green,Yellow

Year Naturalised

1870

Origin

W Australia

Reason For Introduction
Agricultural

Life Cycle Comments
Perennial.

Reproduction
Reproduces from seed. Some suckering may occur.

Seed
A plant that seeds prolifically. Seed probably viable for at least 20 years.

Dispersal
Seeds are dispersed explosively, transported down water courses.

Tolerances
Cannot tolerate deep shade but can tolerate almost any other conditions.

This page last updated on 8 May 2011