Acacia obtusifolia

Acacia obtusifolia grows to a large-shrub or small tree, to 8 m high.

It is found chiefly in NSW in the coastal subdivisions and into the tablelands, extending to the central western slopes. It grows commonly along the south and central coasts and extends towards Gulgong. There are then disjunct records scattered up the north coast and into Queensland, where it grows as far as potentially the Maryborough area. It extends into the very eastern parts of Victoria.

It is usually found on sandy and sandstone substrates but also on basalt. It grows in wet and dry sclerophyll forest and margins of rainforest, woodland and heath.

Australian Wattles at least, can be broadly placed into 1 of 3 recognisable groups:

• Group 1: Those that produce juvenile compound-bipinnate leaves and then change to producing adult-phyllodes which are modified-flattened petioles which form the foliage. This is combined with flowers produced in globular balls or heads (or ovoid heads). The heads can be singular in leaf/phyllode axils or arranged in groups.
• Group 2: As for Group 1 but flowers are produced in longer rod-like spikes.
• Group 3: Those that never produce phyllodes and retain the juvenile compound-bipinnate foliage into adulthood. These always produce flowers in globular balls (which are secondarily arranged into panicle or raceme-like groups in many cases).

This wattle belongs to Group 2.

The phyllodes (modified leaves) are narrowly elliptic to linear, to 20 cm long and 3 cm wide with prominent longitudinal veins and a blunt apex, often with a leathery texture.

The pale-yellow to cream-coloured flowers, are produced in spikes (cylindrical heads) up to 5 cm long, produced singularly or pairs (1s and 2s) in the phyllode axils. Flowering is in summer.

Seed pods are straight, to 15 cm long and 0.5 mm wide.