Sweet Acacia seed Acacia farnesiana
LATIN NAME: ACACIA FARNESIANA
COMMON NAME: Sweet Acacia
The sweet acacia gilds the feathery, evergreen branches with the small, round, golden-yellow flower heads through the winter and the spring, the twice-divided leaves holding the soft, ferny green, and the whole plant carrying the warm, scented look of the tropical acacias. The flowers open in the dense, fragrant globes, each with the sweet, heady perfume, and the dark, woody pods follow. The bush grows into the thorny, spreading shrub or the small tree, and it stands the heat and the drought well. It likes the sun, and the sharp-draining, sandy soil.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The sweet acacia has a long, perfumed record in the aromatic-plant research, and the cassie scent has kept the perfumers busy for the ages. The studies cover the flower chemistry and the seed biology, along with the way the plant copes with the drought, while the ecologists note the nitrogen-fixing roots of the acacia group. The warm, scented shrubs keep a steady place in the growers’ catalogues.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
In the warm garden, the sweet acacia perfumes the winter months. The golden, fragrant heads open through the winter and the spring, the heady scent carries across the garden, and the blooms draw the bees and the butterflies. The nitrogen-fixing roots enrich the soil, and the plant stands the heat and the drought without the fuss. Golden, scented and generous.
The sweet acacia seeds need the quick treatment with the hot water before the sowing, poured over and left to cool, which wakes the hard seeds. Sow them into the seed tray of coarse, gritty mix, cover them lightly, and keep the tray in the warm, bright spot. The seedlings break through within a couple of weeks, and they grow on steadily. Plant the young shrubs in the sunny, sharp-draining ground, and the golden heads come within the first winters.
To grow the sweet acacia from seed, sow the small, hard seeds singly into the seed tray of coarse, gritty mix, then cover them lightly, keep the tray in the warm, bright spot and water gently. The seedlings come through within a few weeks, and they grow on steadily. Grow the young shrubs in the sunny, sharp-draining ground, and the golden heads will gild the branches over the years.
Vachellia farnesiana, also known as Acacia farnesiana
Acacia farnesiana is a deciduous acacia, native to tropical America. This tree reaches 8 m to 10 m. Flowers – Cassie flowers are pedunculate golden yellow scented heads.