Acacia cyclops

Plant Characteristics

Habit		shrub
Height:	⇕	7 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 7. to 15 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 15.
Width:	⇔	7 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 7. to 15 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 15.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Bloom:	❀	early spring, mid spring, late spring, early summer, mid summer, late summer, early fall, mid fall, late fall

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun
Features:	✓	flowers, invasive
USDA Zones:		8 to 11
Flower features:	❀	orange, yellow

Scientific Names

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Acacia cyclops, commonly known as red-eyed wattle or western coastal wattle, is a coastal shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae. Native to Australia, it is distributed along the west coast of Western Australia as far north as Jurien Bay, and along the south coast into South Australia.

It is found in locations exposed to coastal winds, red-eyed wattle grows as a dense, dome shaped shrub; this helps protect against salt spray, sand-blast and erosion of soil at the roots. When sheltered from the wind, it tends to grow as a small tree, up to seven metres high. Like many other Acacia species, red-eyed wattle has phyllodes rather than true leaves. The phyllodes range from four to eight centimetres long, and from six to twelve millimetres wide. Its flower heads are bright yellow spherical clusters. Very few flower heads are produced at a time, but flowering occurs over a long period, from early spring to late summer. This is unusual for Acacia species, which normally flower in one brief but impressive display.

Both the common and species names refer to the appearance of the pods when first open in late spring: each shiny black seed is encircled by a thick orange-red stalk, resembling a bloodshot eye.

Red-eyed wattle can be used to help stabilise coastal sands. It was introduced into Africa for this purpose, but it has spread rapidly and is now a serious pest in southern Africa, where it is known as rooikrans (in Afrikaans, "red garland") . The introduction of the gall-forming cecidomyiid Dasineura dielsi as a biological control has had limited success in the effective control of this weed.

Read about Acacia cyclops in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Acacia cyclops, Cunn. A low spreading shrub, 8-10 ft. tall, with many sts.: phyll. narrow-oblong to lanceolate or even falcate-lanceolate, with oblique point, 1 1/2-3 1/2 in. long, 1/4-3/8in. wide, gland at base more or less obscure; 3-6 longitudinal nerves: fls. solitary or in pairs, or even in short racemes; peduncles 1/4in. long: pods in clusters of 2-7 from one head, 2-2 1/2 in. long, 3/8in. wide, more or less curled; seeds transverse, with odor, when fresh, something like a leek, surrounded by conspicuous scarlet funicle in double fold; ripe Aug.- Nov. Fls. off and on from July-Dec. F. v. M. Icon. 8:3.—Young specimens are very compact and attractive, although in a few years they become spreading and unsymmetrical; but, as short-lived tub-plants for certain formal effects, they would be very effective. While the seed-pods are at first charmingly artistic with the scarlet funicle surrounding the black seeds and the rich brown pods, in age they are unsightly, as they persist until they are ragged, ugly and black. The pods contain much tannin that is hard on the mucous membrane when the seeds are cleaned. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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