Acacia auriculiformis
Common Name(s): Earleaf acacia
Non-Native to Florida
Origin: Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia 1
Introduction to Florida: 1932 (ornamental) 2
This species appears on the following legally prohibited plant lists
UF/IFAS Assessment of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas
CATEGORY I on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council’s (FLEPPC) 2017 List of Invasive Plant Species
Download a recognition card (PDF) from Invasive and Non-native Plants You Should Know3
Download a page (PDF) from Identification and Biology of Nonnative Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas – Second Edition1
Control information: Integrated Management of Nonnative Plants in Natural Areas of Florida (EDIS publication SP 242)4
Appearance: Evergreen, unarmed tree to 15 m (50 ft) tall, with compact spread, often multi-stemmed; young growth glaucous.
Leaves: Alternate, simple, reduced to flattened blade-like phyllodes slightly curved, 11–20 cm (5–8 in) long, with 3–7 main parallel veins
and a marginal gland near the base; surfaces dark green.
Flowers: Loose, yellow-orange spikes at leaf axils or in clusters of spikes at stem tips; flowers mimosa-like, with numerous free stamens.
Fruit: Flat, oblong pod, twisted at maturity, splitting to reveal flat black seeds attached by orange, string-like arils.
Ecological threat: Has invaded pinelands, scrub, and hammocks in south Florida. Displaces native vegetation, and threatens to shade out rare plants. FLEPPC Category I
Distribution: SW, SE
Text from Invasive and Non-Native Plants You Should Know, Recognition Cards, 2007. UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, Publ. No. SP 431.
View the herbarium specimen image from the University of Florida Herbarium Digital Imaging Projects.
Citations
1. Identification and Biology of Nonnative Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas – Second Edition,
by K.A. Langeland, H.M. Cherry, et al. University of Florida-IFAS Publication # SP 257. 2008.
2. Strangers in Paradise, Impact and Management of Nonindigenous Species in Florida, Chapter 2: Florida’s Invasion by Nonindigenous Plants: History, Screening, and Regulation, by D.R.
Gordon and K.P. Thomas, pp. 21-37. Island Press, Washington, DC, 1997.
3. Invasive and Non-native Plants You Should Know – Recognition Cards,
by A. Richard and V. Ramey. University of Florida-IFAS Publication # SP 431. 2007.
4. Integrated Management of Nonnative Plants in Natural Areas of Florida, by K. A. Langeland, J. A. Ferrell, B. Sellers, G. E. MacDonald, and R. K. Stocker. University of Florida-IFAS Publication # SP 242. 2011.