Fabaceae

n/a

Upright to spreading shrub, 2-4 m high with many slender branches. Has profuse golden flowers, flowering from August to October. Fast growth rate.

Foot-slopes and ridges. Prefers gravelly red earth, tolerates frost, drought and lime. Withstands short periods of waterlogging. Prefers 300 – 450 mm rainfall in the Riverina.

Collect mid Nov-mid Feb. Mature seed released immediately or within 12 days of maturity. Propagate from scarified seed, soak in boiling water before sowing. Also, from cuttings. Regenerates by stem coppicing and from seed, particularly after fire.

Useful low-level cover in windbreaks. Improves soil fertility (legume). Bark used for tanning. The seeds are a part of the basic diet of Mallee Fowl. Food plant for caterpillars of native butterflies and moths, which also attract insect eating birds. Cultivated widely as ornamental. An adaptable, hardy shrub.