earleaf acacia Fabaceae Acacia auriculiformis

Leaf:Alternate, simple, evergreen and leathery, 4-6 long, 3/4 to 1 inch wide, curved, glaucus to dark green above and below; margins entire; venation parallel. Technically, these are reduced leaves with blade-like leaf stalks called "phyllodes".
Flower:Species is monoecious; yellow, displayed in showy 3 inch spikes in leaf axils or at the branch tips, fragrant, appearing from spring through fall.
Fruit:A 2 to 3 inch long red-brown legume, flattened, initially straight but becoming very twisted; splitting at maturity to reveal black seeds attached by orange strings.
Twig:Glaucous green.
Bark:Gray-brown to black, becoming irregularly fissured.
Form:A twisted tree with a round crown, to 100 feet tall in its native habitat but more commonly to 50 feet in Florida.

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