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Acacia blakei subsp. diphylla is a tall, upright tree that may reach a height of 15 metres.
This common name refers to one strongholds for this taxon in the gorge country, east of Armidale in northern NSW. It is found mostly north of Gloucester in northern NSW, growing mainly through the tablelands region, into Queensland, with scattered records out to near Jericho. There are also some records further south in NSW, near Tallowa Dam.
Bark is fissured and grey.
Australian Wattles at least, can be broadly placed into 1 of 3 recognisable groups:
Phyllodes and bipinnate leaves are always alternate to clustered, never opposite.
It is thought that Groups 1 and 2 are more highly evolved than Group 3.
This species is of Group 2.
The species is unusual in having two types of phyllodes – juvenile and adult with some appearing intermediate. Adult phyllodes are up to 17 cm long and leathery whereas the juvenile phyllodes are the same size but are soft and shiny; elliptic to narrow-elliptic. In both cases, foliage is dense.
Acacia spp. produce small 5-merous flowers, with 5 very small petals partly-fused into a short tube which sits above a fused calyx. The stamens are the main feature which are produced in high numbers per flower (staminate flowers), surrounding a single style. In this species, plants become covered with golden yellow, rod-shaped spikes, to about 5 cm long; appearing in mid-spring,
The fruit is a pod, about 10 cm long by 0.4 cm wide, curved to flat.
This species is known to be cultivated reliably. It could be cultivated as a “stand alone” specimen in the larger garden. It could also be cultivated as an eye-catching component of shelterbelts and windbreaks. Acacia blakei subsp. diphylla is one wattle that does not require pruning to maintain its shape and foliage density. It is not overly fussy of soils so long as drainage is adequate.
Both foliage and flowers are attractive features.
It prefers well drained soils etc in full sun.
Propagate from seed that should be soaked in boiling water before sowing. The species may also be propagated from cuttings.
The species was originally named Acacia diphylla but in 1990 was made a subspecies of A. blakei, as the latter species does not have immature phyllodes. Perhaps the name A. diphylla should be reinstated because this is a major species/taxon difference.
Most wattles will die in a fire and regenerate from seed. Some species can sucker from basal parts.
Acacia is a highly diverse genus, with over 1500 recognised species (placing it in the top-10 most-diverse plant genera) occurring in most continents except for Europe. Australia has about 970 spp., most of which are endemic. There are also about 10 exotic species. NSW has about 235 recognised species. Some species have become weeds in other states outside of their natural range (e.g., wattles from Western Australia into NSW and vice versa).
Acacia – from Greek Akakia – which refers to an Ancient Greek preparation made from one of the many species; the name of which derives from akis, meaning “thorn” – referring to the thorns of species in Africa.
blakei – Named after Stanley Thatcher Blake (1911-1973), who served as President of the Royal Society of Queensland, and worked as a botanist with the Queensland Herbarium from 1945-1973.
diphylla – Latin meaning “two-leaves” – referring to this subspecies producing very different phyllodes in juvenile plants compared to adult plants.
This subspecies is not known to be at risk of extinction in the wild.
NSW Flora Online (PlantNET) – Acacia blakei subsp. diphylla profile page. https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=in&name=Acacia~blakei~subsp.+diphylla