What is mulga?
Mulga is a hardy acacia tree or shrub that dominates huge areas of inland Australia, forming open woodlands across the arid zone. It is one of the most widespread plants on the continent.
Mulga, Acacia aneura and related species, usually grows three to ten metres tall. Its narrow, grey-green phyllodes point upward, channelling rain down the branches to the trunk and roots, a clever adaptation for capturing scarce water.
Mulga woodlands cover large parts of Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. The word mulga is also Australian slang for the outback, as in out in the mulga.
Many uses
Aboriginal people ground mulga seeds into flour and used the hard timber for boomerangs, spears and digging sticks. Mulga apples, galls formed by insects, were eaten as bush food.
Pastoralists have used mulga leaves as emergency fodder for sheep and cattle in droughts, and the dense wood makes long-lasting fence posts.
Mulga woodlands support many birds, reptiles and insects. Honey ants, an important traditional food, often live in nests beneath mulga trees in Central Australia.
Did You Know?
The word mulga comes from the Yuwaalaraay and Gamilaraay languages of New South Wales.