Acacia Acuminata

Acacia acuminate, famously known as a raspberry jam wattle, is an evergreen shrub or small tree that measures up to about twelve meters tall in the west but generally shorter towards the east. Though on the small side, the tree produces typically high-quality timber. It is harvested from the wild for many reasons, mainly local use. Acacia Acuminate is said to be a traditional food source used by the native Australians and is also grown ornamentally to be used as a hedge.

In Western Australia, it has been proposed as a potential commercial seed crop. It is a wattle species named after its intense aroma of the cut wood. It is also known as Fine Leaf Jam or Jam Tree in English, and Mungaitch or Mungat, Munertor or Manjart in Noongar. Acacia Acuminate is widely found in Western Australia as it spreads through the South West of the state. It is common in Wheat Belt, one of the nine regions of West Australia and extends into the semi-arid interior.

Description

Acacia Acuminata grows as a small tree or a shrub from three to seven meters. In good weather and soil conditions, it might shoot to a height of ten meters, though in most of its distributions, it never grows above five meters. Unlike many other acacia species, it has phyllodes (modified petioles or leaf stems that are leaf-like in function and appearance), rather than real leaves. In some plants, phyllodes are widened and flattened while the leaf becomes reduced or disappears. In such instances, phyllodes come in and serve the purpose of the leaf, and they are bright green, around ten centimetres long and about two centimetres wide. About two centimetres, their lemon-yellow flowers are held in a tight cylindrical cluster. The flowers slowly appear late in the winter to spring, providing an aromatic, beautiful view of goldenrods, while attracting birds and bees. They have pods that are flattened and light brown in the colour of about ten centimetres long and five millimetres wide that appear during summer, which can be harvested from the tree or collected off the ground.

Details of Cultivation

Acacia Acuminate is a sturdy tree that works well on a free-draining soil. It can handle salt, drought, and even frost, as much as it prefers full sun. Like almost other Acacia species, Acacia Acuminate is a nitrogen fixer. It effectively extracts nitrogen from the air and adds it to the soil around its roots. This process helps in the provision of food for plants surrounding it, such as Quandong and Sandalwood. Sandalwood is associated with incense and perfumes as it produces delicious edible nuts and fruits, used as an ointment for body aches, by aboriginals. They can be found in the woodlands and shrubs of southern West Australia and South Australia. Sandalwood is a perfect companion or host species to Acacia Acuminate.

Acacia Acuminata is drought resistant and frost tolerant since it is a semi-arid plant. It is moderately salt-tolerant and requires at least 250mm per year average rainfall. Mungats require warm temperature climates with mainly winter rainfall. Acacia Acuminata grows on seasonally dry soil through a coppicing ability. They do well in areas where the temperatures are within 17 to 28 degrees, but can still tolerate 6 to 38 degrees Celsius. These plants can survive to the temperatures of up to below five degrees when dormant, though young plants can be severely be damaged at temperatures below one degree.

Uses

Wood products. Acacia Acuminata, has a hard and long-lasting wood that is very attractive, reddish, and well grained. It is used extensively for fences posts, ornamental articles, as well as high load applications such as sheave blocks.

Nutritional. Like any other seeds, its seeds are considered nutritional and can be eaten and can well be ground into a powder then used as a flavouring agent in desserts, or as nutritious supplements to bread and pastries. Traditionally, the seeds could be ground into a powder then cooked. Acacia seeds are filled with nutrients that contain about 26% of protein, 26% of carbohydrate, 32% of fiber, and nine percent fat. Unlike most legumes, the fat content is much higher, while the aril produces the fatty acids present. These acids are highly saturated. The seeds are an essential part of the production of high quality, caffeine-free coffee-like beverages.

Medicinal. All acacia species contain greater or lesser quantities of tannins from their barks and are astringent. Astringents are used medicinally to treat internal illnesses such as diarrhea and dysentery and are very helpful in cases of internal wounds and bleeding. They can be applied externally, often as a wash, to treat wounds and some skin problems, hemorrhoids, sweating feet, eye problems, mouth wash, and many other uses. Acacia trees also produce different quantities of gum from the trunks and the stem. These gums can be a vital ingredient in curing diarrhea and hemorrhoids.

Other Uses. Acacia Acuminata is well known for its scented woods used in perfumes production. They possess beautiful colors that vary from violet to crimson with a tight grain. It is very durable, lasting up to seventy years on the ground as posts. When the wood is in a fresher condition, it possesses a different scent that is stronger than when it is in its original state. For turnery and inlay, reliable wood products, craft woods, posts, the wood is valuable. The wood is also used in making quality charcoal and high-quality firewood.

What you need to know

Raspberry Jam Wattle might have a fruity-sounding name, but it does not produce any fruit in the real sense. It only produces seed pods that bear small seeds during summer.
The raspberry might not need fertilisation if it’s growing in the ground in a typical garden. However, it helps sprinkle slow organic fertiliser at the beginning of the flowering season. Acacia trees might need pruning depending on the size. A fully grown tree might not need pruning. However, a young tree might need pruning to the desired shape.