Family:

Fabaceae

Acacia stenophylla

River Cooba

(syn. Racosperma stenophyllum)

Other Names: Eumong

Name Origin:

stenophylla – meaning narrow leaves.

Regional Subspecies:

Occurrence:

Regional:

Probably western reaches of Urana-Rand-Corowa region.

Australia:

Qld, NSW, Vic, SA, WA, NT.

Habitat:

Heavy clay soils adjacent to watercourses or margins of swamps or depressions.

Habit:

Erect or spreading tree 4-10 m high. Fissured, dark grey-brown bark and angled or flattened branchlets. Open crown of long thin drooping ‘leaves’.

Site Preference:

Well-drained soil. Tolerates poor drainage, inundation and waterlogging for short periods.

Tolerates frost.

Characteristics:

Hardy. Long-lived. Highly salt tolerant.

Flowering:

Creamy yellow, Mar-Jul. Also sporadic.

Seed Collection:

Oct-Dec. prolific woody pods.

Propagation:

From scarified seed, cuttings or transplanting suckers.

Regeneration:

Seeds spread during flood and can germinate and persist above normal river heights. Suckers freely.

VALUES:

Shade & Shelter:

Good low to medium level cover in windbreaks.

Land Protection:

Useful for stabilising soil, where its suckering is an advantage. Legume — improves soil fertility through ‘fixing’ nitrogen.

Wildlife:

Useful habitat. Native birds and insects eat seed appendages.

Timber:

Timber beautiful, high quality, very hard and close-grained. Takes fine polish and useful for furniture.

Ornamental:

Some trees ornamental for gardens and parks.