Acacia leprosa

{{Short description|Species of legume}}

{{Speciesbox

|name = Cinnamon wattle

|image = Acacia leprosa1.jpg

|image_caption = An Acacia leprosa tree found at Longwood Gardens

|genus = Acacia

|species = leprosa

|authority = Sieber ex DC.

|range_map = Acacia leprosaDistMap526.png

|range_map_caption = Occurrence data from AVH

|}}

Acacia leprosa, also known as cinnamon wattle, is an acacia native to Australia. It occurs in woodland in Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria. It occurs as a hardy shrub or small tree. The phyllodes (a modified flat leaf-like structure arising through an expanded petiole replacing the leaf blade) are 3–14 cm long and contain oil glands. The lemon-yellow flowers occur as globular heads in clusters in the leaf axils. The fruit is flat seed pod.

A number of varieties are currently recognised within the species including:{{cite web |url=http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?TAXON_NAME=Acacia+leprosa |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121128202918/http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?TAXON_NAME=Acacia+leprosa |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 28, 2012 |title=Acacia leprosa |accessdate=2010-08-14 |work=Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database |publisher=Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra }}

• A. leprosa var. crassipoda Maslin & D.J.Murphy – type: Pyrenees Range, Victoria
• A. leprosa var. graveolens Maslin & D.J.Murphy – formerly known as Acacia verniciflua (southern variant), type: Gippsland Lakes
• A. leprosa Sieber ex DC. var. leprosa
• A. leprosa var. magna Maslin & D.J.Murphy – type: Cape Otway, Victoria
• A. leprosa var. uninervia Maslin & D.J.Murphy, formerly known as A. leprosa (large phyllode variant), type: near Healesville, Victoria

Former varieties include:

• A. leprosa var. binervis F.Muell., currently included in Acacia verniciflua
• A. leprosa var. tenuifolia Benth. also known as A. leprosa (Seymour variant), currently included in Acacia verniciflua
• A. leprosa (Dandenong Range variant), A. leprosa var. elongata Guilf. [nom. inval.] or A. leprosa var. Reclinata, currently known as Acacia stictophylla

The cultivar Acacia leprosa 'Scarlet Blaze' is the only Australian wattle to have red inflorescences (all the rest are yellow or cream-coloured, except for Acacia purpureapetala, which has purple flowers). It was discovered northeast of Melbourne in 1995, and released commercially in 2001.

Acacia leprosa is mentioned in The Australasian Sketcher of Saturday 19 June 1880 in part two of an article on the Mallee Country,{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60622530 |title=The Mallee Country. |newspaper=The Australasian Sketcher with Pen and Pencil |volume=VIII |issue=102 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=17 July 1880 |accessdate=3 April 2024 |page=170 |via=National Library of Australia}} as one of the "beautiful shrubs"{{cn|date=April 2024}} found in the region and identified by Mr Guilfoyle, director of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article893690 |title=Books. |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |volume=XXXIV |issue=3,992 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=6 March 1880 |accessdate=3 April 2024 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}