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A tree growing to 8 m tall and potentially 5 m wide.
It grows on the southern tablelands and western slopes of NSW, mainly south from the ACT, but with some records around Dubbo, extending into Victoria where it extends through the north-eastern parts as far as the Bendigo and Geelong areas.
It grows in sclerophyll forests and woodland, in clays and sandy loams on riverbanks, hillslopes and ridges.
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.
Phyllodes (modified leaves) are grey-green to blue-green and somewhat short and triangular, to about 1.5 cm long and wide with a sharp point (mucro).
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, flowers are produced in globular heads, to 5 mm in diameter, with up to 10 very small staminate flowers per head. The heads are clustered into racemes, up to 15 in each raceme in leaf axils. The flowers are bright yellow, showy and produced in spring. The flowers also have a light scent.
Seed pods straight to slightly curved, to 8 cm long and less than 1 cm wide.
This species has a history of being cultivated and it is grown by some Sutherland and other APS members at least. It is hardy and easy to grow. It can be pruned into different shapes. It can tolerate long dry periods. It needs some room to spread. Plant in a full sun or part sun position. Known to be cultivated in the USA and UK. Give a well-drained soil for best results. Very showy in flower and the architectural nature of the foliage is very unusual.
Acacias can suffer from a number of pests, including borers, scale, galls and leaf miners. Growing plants suitable to your local environment minimises these occurring.
Propagation is easy from scarified seed by covering with boiling water for 24 hours and discarding any seeds still floating on the surface.
Most wattles will regenerate from seed after fire with some species exhibiting suckering from the base.
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.
pravissima – Latin for “perverted”, “crooked”, “distorted” or deformed”, which apparently refers to the irregular branching or the plant.
This species is not known to be at risk of extinction in the wild.
Gardening with Angus – Acacia pravissima profile page https://www.gardeningwithangus.com.au/acacia-pravissima-ovens-wattle/
Wattle – Acacias of Australia – Acacia pravissima profile page https://apps.lucidcentral.org/wattle/text/entities/acacia_pravissima.htm
Wrigley, J.W. & Fagg, M.I. (2001). Australian Native Plants – Propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping. 4th edition. New Holland Publishers, Pty. Ltd. Australia.