Funny, I sprouted my first seeds in decades, and they are Acacia acuminata, one of a very large taxon of pea-related plants.
A. acum. is known (mainly in Australia) as Jam Wattle, because it smells like raspberry jam when sawn. There are supposed to be 2 million century-old jam wattle fenceposts in southwest Australia. Apparently they are proof against termites and rot. It seems to prefer 26 to 32 degrees south latitude, and sandy soil. Sandalwood likes to grow nearby to parasitize something it can't extract by itself, but can get from A. a.'s root system.
And, A. a. leaves (actually not leaves at all, but "phyllodes") have lots of interesting alkaloids. The bark has lots of tannins, and the seeds have lots of protein.
To sprout them you have to scrape ("scarify") the seeds with sandpaper and then put them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them first. Then, the seed has to be exposed to sunlight while wrapped in damp soil for a couple of weeks.
A. acum. is known (mainly in Australia) as Jam Wattle, because it smells like raspberry jam when sawn. There are supposed to be 2 million century-old jam wattle fenceposts in southwest Australia. Apparently they are proof against termites and rot. It seems to prefer 26 to 32 degrees south latitude, and sandy soil. Sandalwood likes to grow nearby to parasitize something it can't extract by itself, but can get from A. a.'s root system.
And, A. a. leaves (actually not leaves at all, but "phyllodes") have lots of interesting alkaloids. The bark has lots of tannins, and the seeds have lots of protein.
To sprout them you have to scrape ("scarify") the seeds with sandpaper and then put them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them first. Then, the seed has to be exposed to sunlight while wrapped in damp soil for a couple of weeks.