Acacias Acacia

Of 69 assessed Acacia members, 37 are rated resistant, 26 received no verdict either way, five are rated keep away, and one is genuinely contested.

Gossamer wattle, screw-pod wattle and cootamundra wattle have substantial assessment behind their resistant ratings. The clearest warning is silver wattle, the genus’s most-studied member, which is rated keep away. Its assessment cites a moderate-to-high flammability classification and inclusion on a 2024 high-flammability environmental-weeds list. Blackwood carries the same warning and reasoning.

A broader assessment of Acacia species also says keep away, drawing on experimental measurements of ignitability, fire intensity and combustion as well as foresters’ observations of fire damage. Orange wattle remains contested despite substantial study. One of its assessments assigns Acacia cyanophylla a flammability note of 3, but the combined findings do not resolve the disagreement.

These are shrubs and trees in the Fabaceae family, reaching about 12 to 40 feet at maturity among the two members measured. Invasiveness recurs in assessments of three members, but it does not explain the whole split. The practical answer is to judge a wattle by its identified species: many have favorable ratings, while silver wattle, blackwood and broad Acacia listings provide clear reasons not to treat the common name as a fire-resistant guarantee.