Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Acacia torulosa - Toruosa Wattle

Edible portion: Gum, Seeds, Pods

An evergreen tree. It grows 4- 9 m high and spreads 2-4 m across. The stem is erect and the bark rough and flaky. The tree has a somewhat open crown. The branches are angular. The young branches are yellowish. The leaves (phyllodes) are dark green. They are narrow and taper towards each end. They are fairly stiff, leathery and only very slightly curved. The tip is pointed. The leaves are 8-20 cm long by 0.4-1.4 cm wide and there are 3 prominent veins. The leaves occur one after the other on opposite sides of the stalk. The flower heads are bright yellow rods 3-6 cm long. They occur as many together in long spikes. The flower tassels may be 6-10 cm long and make an attractive showy plant. The pods are 8-20 cm long by 0.5-0.6 cm wide. They are wrinkled and tightly constricted between the seeds. They look like a string of beads. The pods are fairly straight and without hairs. They are a light brown colour when ripe. The black seeds are arranged lengthwise along the pod.

A native plant of northern Australia. It prefers light well drained deep soils. Often this is on sandstone soils on slopes or near creeks. It grows best in open sunny positions. It may be damaged by drought and frost. It needs extra watering to maintain a good leaf cover. It cannot tolerate wet and poorly drained soils.