Earleaf acacia
Acacia auriculiformis 路 Fabaceae 路 also Australian wattle, Akashmoni, Northern black wattle, Earpod wattle
A fast, often multi-stemmed evergreen wattle of 6 to 30 m with sickle-shaped leaf-like phyllodes, yellow flower spikes and twisted ear-shaped pods. It fixes nitrogen and grows on the worst laterite, mine spoil and saline soils, which is why Indian social forestry planted it by the million in West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and the south for fuelwood and pulp. Critics note its brittle limbs, allelopathic litter and the way it crowds out native regeneration; Florida lists it as a Category I invasive, but no Indian state lists it officially.
Where it stands
Native
Adapted
- 馃嚠馃嚦 AP, India 路 Planted widely; exotic per ICRAFsource
- 馃嚠馃嚦 KA, India 路 Planted widely; exotic per ICRAFsource
- 馃嚠馃嚦 OR, India 路 Planted widely; exotic per ICRAFsource
- 馃嚠馃嚦 TN, India 路 Planted widely; exotic per ICRAFsource
- 馃嚠馃嚦 WB, India 路 Planted on a huge scale in social forestry; no official invasive listing foundsource
- 馃嚬馃嚟 Thailand 路 Introduced per WCVPsource
- 馃嚮馃嚦 Vietnam 路 Major plantation species; introduced per WCVPsource
Care
Plant at the start of the rains at 2 to 4 m spacing; seedlings want half shade at first then full sun. Prune lower branches early and remove multiple leaders if a straight stem is wanted. Branches snap in storms, so keep clear of roofs. Coppices weakly but pollards well. Rust and root rot are occasional; a beetle girdles young stems.
Benefits
Good for