Midlands Mimosa  |  

Acacia axillaris, Family Mimosaceae, the Midlands Acacia or Midlands Mimosa, is a shrub which reaches approximately 2–4 m in height. Adult foliage consists of very narrow, modified leaves (phyllodes) 1-5.5 mm long which taper to a very sharp point. The inflorescence is less than 6 mm long, and comprises a cluster of 2-4 honey-perfumed, cream coloured flowers on a stalk 1.5-2 mm long, formed in the junction (axil) between the phyllode and stem between September and October. Fruits occur in February. It is distinguished from the more common A. riceana (Southern Spiny Wattle), A. siculiformis (Dagger Wattle) and A. genistifolia (Spreading Wattle) by its flowering parts and less distinctly by leaf shape. Distinctions include the following: A. riceana bears its flowers in a cylindrical spike on a stalk 5-12 mm long; A. siculiformis bears a single globular inflorescence of 30-40 flowers on a short stalk in the leaf axil; A. genistifolia has one or two globular inflorescences of 15-25 flowers borne on stalks 1-2 cm long in the leaf axils. Midlands Acacia was previously known as Racosperma axillare.