Ok guys, this is a big post so instead of posting here and taking up space, I have collated everything into a word document which I have attached to this post.

Species 1 and 2 were growing in different areas, though their variants were growing near to each other.

Although I am quite sure that species 1 variants ABC are all floribunda and that species 2 variant B is melanoxylon, species 2 variant A has me very confused.

What do yall think these plants are?

You've found some really interesting acacias, nice work my man! I think Species 1 Variant A is likely some kind of longifolia. Variant C is a potential floribunda candidate or maybe even longissima. Not too sure about Variant B but maybe a broader phyllode floribunda variety - hard to say. I'm curious to know what others think too...

If you haven't already, check out "Acacia floribunda - Workspace and Information" thread that Acacian started. There's some really valuable info there that may help

Hey, thanks CheeseCat!

I have been thinking about it a bit more, and after discovering this pretty awesome website (https://identify.plantnet.org/k-new-zealand/identify), I am now fairly certain that all variants of species 1 is acacia longifolia. The reason I don't think it is Longissima is because 99% of the phyllodes I saw contained 2 main nerves (Longifolia is said to contain 2-4), while Longissima is said to contain 3-5 main nerves with the centre nerve most prominent.
I also think it is Longifolia and not Floribunda because, aside from the fact that Floribunda is less common whereas Longifolia is considered a weed in NZ, Floribunda flowers are said to be 'loosely packed', whereas Longifolia flowers are densely packed (see image below of verified Longifolia and my Longifolia var A). Lastly, all of specie 1 variants had exactly the same bark texture, colour, and pattern.

I am currently extracting from ONLY the phyllodes of species 1 variants (~300g). Will be running tlc on crude product in coming days. I will also do the same on the FRESH stripped bark of species 1 variants (250g), then with the old bark to see if there is a difference here, and lastly with the twigs (still mulling over how I'm gonna break these up without a wood chipper).

I will most likely end up running a tlc on species 2 variant A via 24hr methanol soak because I am quite curious about this species/variant.

Something else to consider is flowering times. Floribunda flowers from late June to early September, whereas a lot of common NZ longifolia start before floribunda in early June. If I was you I would put my time and energy into the narrow phyllode specimen - Species 1 Variant C, followed by Species 2 Variant A.

I've never had luck with longifolia and have always been a bit overwhelmed at how varied it can look.

I'm almost certain the tree in the previous post in Acacia longifolia

re your word doc you put together - species 1 variant A and B are both longifolia to my eyes.. the stems and phyllodes are a giveaway. Note the reddish tinge and the upright erect leathery foliage. floribunda is quite different to all of those trees. variant C I'm unsure. The phyllodes look quite leathery. It is likely a form of melanoxylon.. it can have quite long and variable foliage at a young age.

I'd be surprised seeing longissima turn up in New Zealand.. its not a popular species in cultivation - unlike floribunda, melanoxylon and longifolia.

Also.. don't strip trunk bark off trees (your post indicated that may have been what you did).. twig/stem has the same content more or less and you can do some careful pruning and allow the tree a long healthy life. Stripping bark from the trunk may bring an acacia's life to a premature end..

Hey CheeseCat, you seem to have really thrown a spanner in the works with those flowering times. I am still going to lean towards longifolia because longissima has a centre most prominent vein whereas the phyllodes on mine almost always had 2 off-centred main veins. I went back again today and have attached photos of variants B and C just beginning to flower (I think). Thanks for the tip regarding the phyllodes, I will keep that in mind.

Acacian, now that I have better photos, have a look at the close ups of the new growth of species 1 variants B (top photo) and C (middle and bottom photo), the reddish tinge you mentioned seems to be quite prominent in all of them. Pretty sure variant C is just a young longifolia.

Longifolia are actually considered a threat to native vegetation in NZ, hence why it is classified as a weed. If they catch you with acacia Longifolia on your property, they will instruct you to destroy it. Regardless, I merely pruned the dead and dying low-lying branches – if anything I actually helped it!

Its definitely longifolia .. the tightly packed flower rod, emerging from the node with no visible peduncle, as well as the red pulvinus and the numerous prominent veins is pretty text book longifolia .. I wouldn't worry too much about slight differences in flowering time. Trees can form their flowers quite a while before they actually bloom.. there are acacia where I live which won't flower until late winter/early spring next year but have already started forming their flower buds. Location/weather and climate can affect flowering time too slightly. And longifolia has a number of differen't forms to add yet another variable.. The rods forming in your last post are a long way off blooming.

As I said its unlikely you will run into Acacia longissima growing in NZ as far as I'm aware.. its not even really cultivated here in Australia. Longifolia is much more likely as is widely cultivated and like you say an invasive weed. Longissima has differen't flower rods too.. a little looser than longifolia.. but more tightly packed than floribunda.. and would be in bloom now.

And that is fair enough then about the harvesting.. I didn't realize it was such a bad weed there. just a good thing to keep in mind generally though..is good to be sure of ID before peeling bark off the trunks of trees. Look forward to hearing how your experiments go! Some forms of longifolia have DMT.. its a species people tend to overlook now and would be great to see more experiments.

below longissima flower vs longifolia

I had a look at a local longissima just to refresh my memory and you guys are right - Species 1 Variant C is not longissima. Longissima is just beginning to flower this time of year with phyllodes that are soft and pliable (see pics). Variant C looks familiar to me though so I'll check out another tree today for comparison.

Hey cool to see a longissima in New Zealand! do you see many around? Happy to eat my words on that one

I just had a look on iNaturalist and there's more around than I thought. Not as common as floribunda of course. I was really surprised to see them flowering and also how soft the phyllodes are compared to narrow phyllode floribunda.



Ah that makes sense, I was definitely scratching my head a bit!

Hmm floribunda should be soft papery phyllodes.. that is one of the defining characteristics of the species. If phyllodes are stiff its possible its a hybrid of some sort?

Well, I wouldn't describe the phyllodes as stiff, still thin and pliable but compared to longissima they appear firmer due to the phyllodes being a bit wider and a little shorter in length. It could be a hybrid though, given how vastly different they look compared to broader leaf varieties, particularly in Australia.

we get lots of variation across the board with this species here.. it really needs to be revised. The tryptamine yielding floribunda is really a completely different looking species to a lot of these other trees. But many of them have just been lumped into floribunda. Even most native nurseries tend stock these other types that don't display the true characteristics

Lots of other acacias are either separated into differen't species or at least have a few sub species when this kind of thing is observed. But floribunda's info is out of date

Yeah, I definitely think that is the case

Do you recognise this acacia, Acacian? I'm stumped!

That to me looks a little more like the classic type floribunda.. is normal for them to start producing rods now. I saw some yesterday that were beginning to form since their pods have been dropped. Could you get some photos of the nerve networks? The soft phyllodes hanging from the stems is a good sign.. as is the 3 more prominent veins. Basal gland should be absent too.. some detailed pics would help though

Man, that would be amazing! It's an unbelievable spot. Lots of very mature trees, some have fallen over and some have really dark looking smooth bark. I'm so used to looking at council floribunda that I didn't consider/recognise they might be actual floribunda. As I was walking around there was a fragrance in the air and I thought to myself, I can smell floribunda tea! I'll go back and get some better photos. Interested to hear your thoughts on my latest post in Acacia floribunda workspace...

The main reason I didn’t consider these trees to be floribunda was because of the drooping/hanging phyllodes. I re-read what Nen said about the "phyllodes hanging pendulously from the stem rather than the weight of the stem making the phyllodes hang down" - a big distinction that I now understand.


I've thought about this a lot and I think you are absolutely right. The common cultivator phyllodes are often more firm, with a thicker texture preventing the phyllodes from drooping. Having seen these latest trees (and the longissima) I have a much clearer understanding of what constitutes soft and papery.

Yeah I think the papery texture means the phyllodes tend to kind of hang a little bit more.. but also the branches of floribunda tend to grow upwards and the foliage forms at the ends in pendulous bursts .. each of these stems is no where near as thick as the main branch so the foliage naturally will weep. Kind of hard to describe but you can see this is the case below.. if the foliage was more stiff and concurrent with the larger stems you probably wouldn't see this.. but you do see it more with the cultivars

That's a good explanation, cheers Acacian. Here's a few more photos. Flower rods are twinned and phyllodes have incredibly tiny appressed hairs. Anastomisation and nerve/vein structure seem right. The location is like a haven for floribunda, there's probably in excess of 15+ wise old floribundas - seldom visited by people, so I'm feeling grateful to have found them. I took my Sony NEX-5N to try and get some arty shots too, inspired by some of your photos

I tried chewing on a few phyllodes and these ones have a pronounced grassy taste followed by a bitterness (had to spit out after awhile). I'm hoping this is a good sign!

They look good to me .. love your profile pic btw