Useful honey tree
Dense shrub or small tree to 8 metres on sandy or stony soils in open forest. Found in understorey over most of South-East Queensland and surrounding regions including NSW. Will usually be smaller than 8 metres and quite common in regrowth of disturbed coastal areas, hardy, fast growing. The leaves are flatttened leaf stalks, not real leaves at all, called phyllodes. The upper margin is curved, the lower margin more or less straight. The obvious veins join at the base, hence the name. The bark can be fissured, and is usually fibrous, grey-black. Branchlets angular, stout, brown. The first few leaves of seedlings are usually thin, and have the true leaves fringing the phyllodes. The true leaves soon drop off. Acacias can fix nitrogen in the soil which gives them an advantage which explains their success in disturbed sites where soil is poor.
Photo: Robert Whyte
Name and host plant
The name refers to the converging primary veins of the phyllodes. Closely related to A. leiocalyx which is distinguished by more angular and reddish branchlets, shorter pulvinus, green phyllodes and deeper yellow flower heads, and to A. crassa which has more dense, deep yellow spikes, shorter pulvinus and generally larger green phyllodes. Intermediates between A. concurrens and A. leiocalyx occur in northern NSW. The type was collected by botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham near the Brisbane River, Queensland. Bark, seeds, and wood of this and other acacia species important sources of material and nourishment for coastal Aboriginal tribes. Host plant for larvae of Blue Jewel Hypochrysops delicia, Emerald Hairstreak Jalmenus daemeli, Common Imperial Hairstreak Jalmenus evagoras evagoras, Stencilled Hairstreak Jalmenus ictinus butterflies. Flowers and buds attract Felder’s Line-blue Prosotas felderi, Small Purple Line-blue Prosotas dubiosa and Glistening Blue Sahulana scintillata butterflies. Also a useful honey tree.
Seed collection and propagation
Acacia concurrens legumes, seeds and arils. John Robert McPherson CC0 1.0 Universal
Collect the twisty seed pods when they are turning brown. The photo of the seed pod above was taken in October 2024 at Navarre Street at 7th Brigade Park, Chermside. The brownish black seeds are elliptical in shape 3 to 4 mm long. Rewmove from pod. Immerse seeds in boiling water for 30 seconds then refresh in iced water. The seeds swell up if they are viable.
References and resources
World Wide Wattle
PlantNET plant Search, NSW Herbarium – Excellent resource, probably the best online plant database.
Photo: Robert Whyte
