Acacia decurrens (J.C.Wendl.) Willd.

Tall shrub to tree to 10 (–15) m high. Bark smooth or fissured, brown, greyish black or black, with conspicuous internodal flange marks. Branchlets with winged ridges 0.5–2 mm high, glabrous or sparsely appressed-puberulous. Young foliage-tips light green or greenish yellow to yellow when pubescent. Leaves dark green; petiole above pulvinus (0.7–) 1.5–2.8 cm long, angular, with a prominent orbicular gland mostly at base of or up to c. 7 mm below basal pinnae; rachis 2–12 cm long, angular, furrowed, with orbicular jugary glands at all pairs of pinnae; interjugary glands absent; pinnae 3–13 pairs, (2.5–) 4–7 (–9) cm long; pinnules 15–45 pairs, widely spaced, linear, 5–15 mm long, 0.4–0.8 mm wide, glabrous or rarely sparsely appressed-ciliate, obtuse or subacute. Inflorescences in axillary elongated racemes or terminal false-panicles; peduncles 3–7 mm long. Heads globular, 20–32-flowered, golden. Pods straight-sided to irregularly and mostly slightly constricted between seeds, 2–10.5 cm long, 4–8.5 mm wide, subcoriaceous, smooth, brown or dark brown, glabrous.

A temperate plant. It occurs naturally in Eastern Australia. It has been introduced to Tasmania. It prefers medium soils and a protected position. It is drought and frost resistant. It grows in areas with a rainfall between 450-3,600 m above sea level. It is frost tender while young. Because of its showy appearance and use as firewood it has been introduced to other countries. It suits warm temperate places. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 9-10. Tasmania Herbarium. In Yunnan.

Often cultivated as an ornamental and in landscaping. Acacia decurrens was introduced to South Africa, where it has played an important role in the tanning bark industry. The bark has a high tannin yield but not as high as A. mearnsii (q.v.). Further information on the utilisation potential of A. decurrens is given in B.R. Maslin & M.W. McDonald, AcaciaSearch: Evaluation of Acacia as a woody crop option for southern Australia, RIRDC Publication No. 30/017, 68–75 (2004).

It is grown from seed. The seed need treatment to break the hard seed coat. Normally this is by putting the seeds in very hot water and letting the water cool down overnight then planting the seeds immediately.