Common Name(s): Mulga
Scientific Name: Acacia aneura
Distribution: Australia
Comments: A very heavy hardwood growing in dry regions of Australia. A small tree or shrub, the wood is usually used for turned objects or small decorative items. The wood is believed to have poisonous properties, and for this reason aboriginals used the wood for spear heads. At the very least, the wood has been shown to cause skin irritation, and splinters of the wood can cause lesions.
Note: This is a truncated profile page. If you have any helpful info or experience with this wood species, feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to integrate any relevant data when I expand the page. ~Eric
Images: Drag the slider up/down to toggle between raw and finished wood.
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Mulga (Acacia aneura)[/caption]
Related Content:
I was recently in Australia and bough some pen blanks. One blank was called Black Mulga which, when turned, was almost black, but the grain was still visible. Beautiful wood.
There is more information on Acacia aneura “Mulga”, including mechanical properties here:
https://www.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-09/FPC-species-information.pdf along with a number of other Australian species.
There is another myall, Acacia papyrocarpa, and a gidgee, Acacia pruinocarpa on this site that are different from the gidgees and myall on your list so far. Wikipedia lists 7 gidgees and 4 myalls. Common names eh? There are more than a few Acacias in Australia https://worldwidewattle.com/speciesgallery/browse.php?l=c
Just keep in mind that the info for mulga in that document is just a generic listing of the strength group, based on its weight. It’s not actually results from testing the wood. But I plan to add some more data to these woods as I get time.
its fairly well known that mulga was very often used to make kylies and boomerangs, as well as clapsticks. as for the weight, im not sure of the specific weight exactly, but i read once that its about 1.1-1.4 grams per cubic centimeter. hope that helps a bit!