Acacia saligna (Labill.) H.L.Wendl.

Shrub or tree (1–) 3–10 m high, often root-suckering. Bark grey, texture variable (see below). Branchlets normally slightly flexuose, sometimes pruinose, glabrous. Phyllodes patent to pendulous, variable in shape and size, linear to lanceolate, straight to falcate, usually 10–25 cm long and 5–35 mm wide, often larger towards base of plant, green to glaucous, glabrous, with prominent midrib, finely penniveined (absent on very narrow phyllodes); gland ± disciform, 1–2 mm wide, 0–3 mm above pulvinus; pulvinus mostly 1–2 mm long, coarsely wrinkled. Inflorescences mostly 2–10-headed racemes, enclosed when young by imbricate bracts, with bract scars evident at anthesis; buds obtuse to acute or acuminate, 2–7 mm long; raceme axes mostly 2–60 mm long, glabrous; peduncles 5–15 mm long, glabrous; heads globular, mostly 25–55-flowered, mostly golden to lemon yellow. Flowers 5-merous; sepals c. ⅘-united. Pods linear, flat, shallowly constricted between seeds, 8–12 cm long, 4–6 mm wide, thinly coriaceous, glabrous. Seeds longitudinal, oblong to slightly elliptic, 5–6 mm long, shiny, dark brown to black; aril clavate.

It is a subtropical plant. It occurs in coastal areas of Western Australia. It will grow on calcareous or sandy soils. It prefers light to medium soils. It requires an open sunny position. It is drought resistant and frost tolerant. It can stand some salting. It grows well in subtropical regions. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 125-1,200 m above sea level. It grows below 300 m above sea level. It is wind resistant. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 9-11. Wittunga Botanical Gardens.

A fast growing, drought-tolerant species that is easy to coppice and which spreads both by root suckers and seed. Acacia saligna is planted widely (conservatively over 300 000 ha globally) for a range of purposes (e.g. windbreaks, sand dune fixation, fuelwoods, fodder production) in West Asia, North Africa and parts of South America, as well as South Africa and parts of the Mediterranean where it is now considered a serious environmental weed, fide Midgley and Turnbull (2003); see also Stirton 1978: 60–63; El-Lakany 1987; Bar et al. 2004; Yelenik et al. (2004). Within Australia it has been ranked highly in assessments of the potential of native plants to provide large-scale, commercially viable wood and fodder crops for agricultural regions of southern Australia, fide Maslin and McDonald (2004), this work also provides an overview of biological, ecological, silvicultural and utilisation aspects of the species. Acacia saligna has been widely cultivated as an ornamental and landscaping plant, however there is now more awareness of its weed potential (e.g. Entwisle et al. 1996, Queensland Government 2016, Richardson et al. 2016, Kodela 2019).

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. It can be grown from cuttings. Trees re-sprout from the base when cut down.