Acacia Mearnsii, Black Wattle - 0.5 kg Seeds

Acacia mearnsii, the black wattle, is a fast-growing evergreen tree with dark green, finely divided bipinnate foliage and pale yellow, fragrant flower balls. In India it is cultivated mainly in the cool hill plantations of the Nilgiris and other upland areas, where it has been grown commercially for over a century.

Its bark is one of the world's richest commercial sources of vegetable tannin used in leather tanning, while the wood is valued for fuel, charcoal and pulp. As a hardy nitrogen-fixing legume it also helps stabilise and enrich eroded hill soils and provides quick shelter and shade.

• Family: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
• Native region: south-eastern Australia and Tasmania
• Mature height: 6-15 m
• Growth rate: fast

The hard-coated seeds need pre-treatment: pour hot water over them and soak as it cools for 12-24 hours, sowing those that swell. Sow about 1 cm deep in a free-draining nursery mix; germination usually takes 14-21 days. Grow the seedlings on in pots and transplant to a cool, sunny site once sturdy.