''Acacia maidenii'', also known as Maiden's wattle, is a tree native to Australia (

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and Victoria). It has been introduced into India (

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

) and Argentina, and it grows on plantations in South Africa.

Description and habitat

It prefers full sun to partial shade and it is often found on the edge of

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

. It grows up to 20 m high in an erect or spreading habit. The

phyllode Phyllodes are modified petiole (botany), petioles or leaf stems, which are leaf-like in appearance and function. In some plants, these become flattened and widened, while the leaf itself becomes reduced or vanishes altogether. Thus the phyllode co ...

s are dark green, alternate along the stem and reach 20 cm in length and 1 to 3 cm in width. It is very fast growing, reaching 1.5 m tall in as little as five months. Its flowers have pale yellow spikes up to 6 cm long that often occur in clusters of two to three. The fruit is hairy, about 15 cm long and narrow, often becoming coiled. In the Australian state of Victoria it is listed as being an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

; however, it is a common species through much of the rest of its range. The tree has a lifespan of more than 30 years. It grows approximately 1 m per year. It is frost tolerant down to , but it is not drought tolerant, so irrigation may be necessary in some growing areas. In its natural range, it tends to grow in places with an average maximum temperature of about 25 °C, but it also exists in a range of 22–32 °C avg. max. temp. It tends to grow primarily in areas near the coast averaging 1200–1600 mm/year of rainfall, but overall it is found to some extent in areas ranging from 600 to 2000 mm/year of rainfall.

Uses

It makes an attractive ornamental tree along streets and in parks. It is very good for reforestation in suitable areas. The exudates from the trunk (like gum or pitch) have been used in the past for food by

indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

Phytochemicals

Fitzgerald and Siournis reported in the ''Australian Journal of Chemistry'' (1965, volume 18, pp. 433–4) that a sample of the bark contained 0.36% of the

hallucinogen Hallucinogens, also known as psychedelics, entheogens, or historically as psychotomimetics, are a large and diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, mo ...

dimethyltryptamine Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), also known as ''N'',''N''-dimethyltryptamine (''N'',''N''-DMT), is a Psychedelic drug, serotonergic hallucinogen and Investigational New Drug, investigational drug of the substituted tryptamine, tryptamine family tha ...

as well as 0.24% of

N-methyltryptamine ''N''-Methyltryptamine (NMT), also known as monomethyltryptamine, is a chemical compound of the tryptamine family and a naturally occurring compound found in the human body and certain plants. It is biosynthesized in humans from tryptamine by ...

. Underground chemists in the early 90s found 0.6% dimethyltryptamine in the plant. It has been experimentally consumed orally in conjunction with monoamine oxidase inhibitors to produce an 'ayahuasca' analogue (variation on the South American

Ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' (Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' descen ...

). Teracacidin, a

flavan-3,4-diol Leucoanthocyanidin (flavan-3,4-diols) are colorless chemical compounds related to anthocyanidins and anthocyanins. Leucoanthocyanins can be found in ''Anadenanthera peregrina'' and in several species of ''Nepenthes'' including '' N. burbidgeae ...

, can be isolated from ''A. maidenii'' heartwood.

Cultivation

USDA Zone 9 is recommended. ''Acacia maidenii'' does well in all types of soil, except those that are waterlogged for lengthy periods of time. The tree's seeds number about 65 per gram. ''A. maidenii'' can be propagated from seed but, in order to increase the germination rate, the seed should be treated first. It can be soaked in hot water or the seed can be nicked or otherwise mechanically scarified, so that water will penetrate the seed's hard coating and induce germination. Germination is highest at temperatures between 21 and 27 °C.

References

External links

Growing ''Acacia'' from Seed (www.australianplants.org)

Society of studies about Ethnobotany and the Modified States of Consciousness
{{Taxonbar, from=Q678446 maidenii Psychedelic tryptamine carriers Trees of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (state) Fabales of Australia Ayahuasca analogs