Flowers of Bali

Balinese name: Akasia
Indonesian name: Pilang
Latin name: Acacia auriculiformis
Family name: Leguminosae

The Balinese Acacia is not native to the island but was introduced by the Indonesia Department of Forestry. It has adapted perfectly to its new environment. The By-Pass Highway is lined with vigorous specimens from Tohpati to Nusa Dua. It is a good shade tree and, like all legumes, helps to enrich the soil.

Acacia flowers are typically small, yellow and fragrant with many stamens, giving the flower a fuzzy appearance. The Acacia flower heads are actually lots of little flowers bundled together. Acacia Flowers can vary in color from cream, pale yellow through to gold. One species, Acacia purpureapetala, has purple flowers whilst a form of Acacia leprosa has red flowers. Individual Acacia Flowers are arranged in inflorescences that may be either globular heads or cylindrical spikes. Each Acacia inflorescence may comprise from as few as 3 individual flowers (e.g. Acacia lunata) to as many as 130 or more (e.g. Acacia anceps).

Description

Distinctive yellow pendant clusters cover medium sized tree.

Flowers

From a distance these look like long yellow pipe cleaners or pieces of chenille. Each is actually a thin stem along which grow large numbers of tiny yellow flowers.

The flower clusters are attached to twigs at leaf junctions and are about 1-2 cm apart. Each cluster is about 10 cm long and 8-9 cm in diameter. The individual flower is a few millimeters in size and has five petals curling from the flower cup. A fluff of yellow stamens protrudes from this cup.

Leaves

Crescent-shaped, up to 18 by 3 cm. They are carried on short stems.

Seeds

Contained in a unusually convoluted seed pod. As many as eight or 10 of these pods may be twisted around each other on the same stem.

Flowering

In the middle of the dry season.

Acacias Plant Care

• Acacias have no special nutrient needs and will grow well in most desert soils.
• The garden area could be mulched with pine bark or other available material to help prevent drying out.
• But the mulch needs to be kept away from the plant stem to avoid the possible development of stem rot.
• Pruning is advisable each year to maintain a bushy healthy shrub.
• This is best undertaken after flowering.
• Acacia plants should not be left in pots too long before planting in the garden as they quickly develop long root systems.