Acacia mellifera (=Senegalia mellifera) is very drought resistant, hardy, thickset, deciduous Acacia with vicious, hook thorns. The bark is purplish-black on the young stems and turns grey with age.
The leaflets are blue-green, round and quite large for an Acacia. It blooms profusely from September to November with scented, white, puffball flowers that are especially fragrant at night.
These are followed by small, beige pods that are very nutritious. It makes a good screen and security fence as it can form impenetrable thickets.
It is a small tree with character and a good bonsai subject.
Size 3 to 7m