Download Acacia cyclops (coastal wattle)

Acacia cyclops (coastal wattle)
Evergreen shrub or small tree, with yellow spherical flower heads, usually found in sand dunes.
Scientific name: Acacia cyclops A. Cunn. ex G. Don
Common name: coastal wattle
Family: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
Status in Portugal: invasive species
Risk Assessment score: (in development)
Synonymy: Acacia cyclopis A.H. Mackay ex Loudon, A. cyclopis F. Muell., A. cyclopis Sweet, A.
eglandulosa DC., A. mirbeli Dehnh., ortho. var., A. mirbelii Dehnh., Racosperma glandulosum (DC.)
Pedley
Last update: 30/06/2014
How to recognize it
Shrub or small tree up to 4m, prostrate, with a fissured rhytidome.
Leaves: evergreen, reduced to phyllodes, with 4-9 x
0,6-1,2 cm, linear-oblong to oblanceolate, sometimes falcate, with 3-5 longitudinal veins.
Flowers: yellow and arranged in globular flower
heads 4-6-mm wide; solitary or in groups of 2 or 3.
Fruits: compressed pods, undulate or contorted,
reddish-brown; seeds completely surrounded by a
scarlet funicle.
Flowering: March to October.
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Close-up of yellow flowers arranged in globular flower
heads and phyllodes with several longitudinal veins
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Acacia cyclops (coastal wattle)
Similar species
Acacia longifolia (Sydney golden wattle) is similar, but it has flowers arranged in spikes, the pod is
cylindrical and the funicle is much shorter and whiter. Acacia melanoxylon (Australian blackwood) is also
similar but it is a tree of larger dimension and has yellow flowers, but more pale, and the seeds are
encircled by an orange funicle.
Characteristics that aid invasion
It reproduces by seed; it produces many seeds that accumulate in numerous seed banks and remain
viable in the ground for many years. The seeds are dispersed by animals, mainly birds, ants and small
vertebrates. Germination is stimulated by fire.
ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION
Native distribution area
Southeast Australia.
Distribution in Portugal
Mainland Portugal (Beira Litoral,
Estremadura, Baixo Alentejo).
Beira
Alta,
Other places where the species is invasive
Europe (Spain), South Africa, western USA (California).
Introduction reasons
For ornamental purposes, having also been planted for erosion control in coastal dunes.
Preferential invasion environments
Coastal dunes and maritime calcareous rocks.
It prefers sandy, quartzite or calcareous soils.
It tolerates salt spray, winds, salinity and moderate frost. It doesn’t develop well in the shade.
IMPACTS
Even though it’s not legally considered an invasive plant in Portugal, its shows invasive behaviour in some
locations.
Impacts on the ecosystems
It forms very dense thickets, inhibiting the development of native vegetation and reducing the diversity of
species.
It produces a lot of nitrogen-rich litter, which promotes soil change.
It has allelopathic effects, inhibiting the development of other species.
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Acacia cyclops (coastal wattle)
Economic impacts
It has potential expensive control methodologies.
Natura 2000 network habitats more subject to impacts

Shifting dunes along the shoreline with Ammophila arenaria («white dunes») (2120);

Fixed coastal dunes with herbaceous vegetation («grey dunes») (2130);

Atlantic decalcified fixed dunes (Calluno-Ulicetea) (2150);

Malcolmietalia dune grasslands (2230);

Coastal dunes with Juniperus spp. (2250);

Cisto-Lavenduletalia dune sclerophyllous scrubs (2260).
CONTROL
Controlling an invasive species demands a well-planned management, which includes the determination
of the invaded area, identifying the causes of invasion, assessing the impacts, defining the intervention
priorities, selecting the adequate control methodologies and their application. Afterwards it is
fundamental to monitor the efficiency of the methodologies and recuperation of the intervened area as
to perform, whenever necessary, the follow-up control.
The control methodologies used for Acacia cyclops include:
Physical control
Hand pulling: preferential methodology for seedlings and small plants. In compacted substrates, hand
pulling should be made during the rainy season as to facilitate the removal of the root system.
Cutting: preferential methodology for adult plants. Cutting should be made as close to the ground as
possible by using manual and/or mechanical equipment. It should be done before seed maturation.
Biological control
The weevil Melanterius servulus Pascoe (Coleoptera: Curcullonidae), that causes the destruction has been
used, since 1991, very successfully in the control of Acacia cyclops in South Africa.
The wasp Dasineura dielsi Rübsaamen (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), used since 2002, has also had
considerable results in controlling A. cyclops in South Africa. This species forms galls in the floral shoots
of A. cyclops inhibiting seed formation.
These agents have not yet been tested in Portugal as to verify their harmlessness to native species, so its
use is not yet an option in our country.
Prescribed fire
It may be strategically used to favour germination of the seed bank, e.g., after the control of adult plants
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Acacia cyclops (coastal wattle)
(with the adequate management of the resulting biomass) and the subsequent elimination of seedlings.
This method provides an advantageous reduction of the seed bank, both by destroying part of the seeds
or by stimulating the germination of the remainders.
For additional information, visit the webpage www.invasoras.pt and/or contact us at [email protected].
REFERENCES
Adair RJ (2005) The biology of Dasineura dielsi Rübsaamen (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) in relation to the biological control of
Acacia cyclops (Mimosaceae) in South Africa. Australian Journal of Entomology 44: 446-456.
Agricultural Research Council - Plant Protection Research Institute - Weed Research Division (2014) Management of invasive
alien plants: A list of biocontrol agents released against invasive alien plants in South Africa. Available: http://
www.arc.agric.za/arc-ppri/Documents/WebAgentsreleased.pdf [Retrieved 28/02/2014].
CABI (2012) Acacia cyclops. In: Invasive Species Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. Available: www.cabi.org/isc
[Retrieved 06/11/2012].
DAISIE European Invasive Alien Species Gateway (2012) Acacia cyclops. Available: http://www.europe-aliens.org/
speciesFactsheet.do?speciesId=12740 [Retrieved 06/11/2012].
Dufour-Dror J-M (2012) Alien invasive plants in Israel. The Middle East Nature Conservation Promotion Association, Ahva,
Jerusalem, 213pp.
Impson FAC, Moran VC, Hoffmann JH (2004) Biological control of an alien tree, Acacia cyclops, in South Africa: impact and
dispersal of a seed-feeding weevil, Melanterius servulus. Biological Control 29: 375-381.
Marchante E, Freitas H, Marchante H (2008) Guia prático para a identificação de plantas invasoras de Portugal Continental.
Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, 183pp.
Verloove F, Reyes-Betancort JA (2011) Additions to the flora of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). Collectanea Botanica 30: 6378.
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