Acacia mangium (Mangium)

Native to northeastern Queensland in Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia’s Maluku Islands, this fast-growing evergreen tree can reach about 100 feet tall. Its mature leaf-like structures are flattened leaf stalks called phyllodes. Tiny white or cream flowers form cylindrical spikes, followed by tightly coiled pods containing shiny black seeds. It is a major plantation tree in Southeast Asia, supplying wood for paper pulp, furniture and construction. Forestry programs also use hybrids with Acacia auriculiformis. It has naturalized in Singapore and become invasive in Roraima, Brazil, where it spreads beyond plantations into savannas and indigenous agricultural lands. Bacteria in its root nodules fix nitrogen, helping it grow on nutrient-poor soils. Photographed in Antioquia, Colombia.