银荆 yin jing

Acacia decurrens Willdenow var. dealbata (Link) F. Muel­ler ex Maiden; Racosperma dealbatum (Link) Pedley.

Shrubs or trees, small, ca. 15 m tall, unarmed. Young branchlets slightly angular with ridges gray tomentose, glau­cous. Leaves argenteous to greenish or golden when not ex­tended; rachis not angulate; glands at rachis of pinna insertion; pinnae 10-20(-25); leaflets 26-46 pairs, dense, distance between leaflets not more than width of 1 leaflet, linear, 2.6-3.5 × 0.4-0.5 mm, abaxially or both surfaces gray-white pubescent. Heads 6-7 mm in diam., arranged in axillary racemes or pani­cles; peduncles ca. 3 mm. Flowers yellowish or orange-yellow. Legume red-brown or black, glaucous, oblong, flat, 3-8 cm × 7-12 mm, glabrous. Seeds elliptic, flat. Fl. Apr, fr. Jul-Aug. 2n = 26.

Cultivated in Fujian, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [native to Australia].

This species is grown for its tannins and as a honey plant.