Herb: Blackwood


Latin name: Acacia melanoxylon


Family: Leguminosae



Medicinal use of Blackwood:

Antirheumatic.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Evergreen
Tree

Height:
30 m
(98 feet)

Flowering:
April


Scent:
Scented
Tree

Habitat of the herb:

Wet forests on good soils up to the montane zone. Usually an under-storey tree in Eucalyptus forests.

Edible parts of Blackwood:

Flowers - cooked. Rich in pollen, they are often used in fritters. The flowers have a penetrating scent.

Other uses of the herb:

A yellow dye is obtained from the flowers. A green dye is obtained from the seed pods. The extensive root system of this plant helps to prevent soil erosion. The bark is rich in tannin. Wood - hard, dark, close grained, high quality, takes a high polish. Used for furniture, fittings etc.

Propagation of Blackwood:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a sunny position in a warm greenhouse. Stored seed should be scarified, pre-soaked for 12 hours in warm water and then sown in a warm greenhouse in March. The seed germinates in 3 - 4 weeks at 25°C. As soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots and grow them on in a sunny position in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts, and consider giving them some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood with a heel, July/August in individual pots in a frame. Overwinter in a greenhouse for the first winter and plant out in their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. Fair percentage.

Cultivation of the herb:

Wet forests on good soils up to the montane zone. Usually an under-storey tree in Eucalyptus forests.

Known hazards of Acacia melanoxylon:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.