The desert landscape palette always has room for a few more evergreen, thornless trees. In the desert southwest there is a conspicuous lack of native evergreen species and many of those introduced over the last 20 to 30 years lack a desert character. As a result we have had to look to other desert regions of the world for trees that were both evergreen and blended with our surroundings gracefully. For these reasons many Australian natives have been incorporated into our desert landscapes. Acacia cyclops (Western Coastal Wattle) and A. coriacea (Desert Oak) are new and welcome additions.

In native Australian habitats, Acacia cyclops grows as a dense, evergreen bushy shrub (often with multiple stems), or small tree 9 to 24 feet tall, with a rounded leaf canopy. The canopy is made up of light green, narrow leaves (phyllodes), that have a varnished or shiny appearance when young, and grow in a slightly down turned fashion. In spring, yellow, round, ball-shaped flowers appear. Pods, mature in summer, but are not all shed leaving seeds available to attract wildlife and birds. A. cyclops takes its name from its large black seed that is surrounded by a bright red tissue called an aril. The seed and aril together look like a single, bloodshot eye, hence the name Cyclops. Native to southwestern Australia, it grows mostly on coastal sand dunes. In native settings it grows relatively slowly. The trunks are a reddish brown with intricate branches, often growing with multiple trunks.

Western Coastal Wattle can grow in dry areas with annual precipitation less than 1 ½ inches and elevations below 1000 feet. It tolerates salt spray, wind, sandblast, and salinity and grows best in porous soils and full sun. It will not tolerate deep shade. It is described as "slightly frost resistant," regularly surviving temperatures in the low 30's in native settings.

Besides its use as a landscape tree or barrier planting, this species has also been used to stabilize coastal dunes in Australia and for the production of high quality firewood at maturity. The seeds contain oils making them an ideal food for birds and other wildlife and, when crushed, used as cattle feed.

Acacia coriacea, Desert Oak, is another native Australian evergreen with a relatively small compact form that can grow either as a small tree or a large dense shrub. The literature reports mature heights in native Australian stands ranging from 6 to 8 feet all the way up to reports of trees nearly 30 feet tall. This wide range in heights may be due to genetic diversity of seed sources or regional growing conditions. It is unclear what the height will be under southwestern conditions but initially plantings at the University of Arizona suggest that it will be generally smaller in stature in the 6 to 8 foot range. Native primarily to northern Australian it is found in the northern reaches of New South Wales and in New Holland on the eastern coast. It grows in open woodlands on sandy soils and stony ridges. The specie name coriacea come from a botanical term coriaceous meaning leathery, thick or tough and generally refers to the trees leaves. Leaves are narrow and elongate, up to 6 inches long, ash-colored to light green, covered with very fine close hair. The trunk color is similar to the leaves with dispersed somewhat weepy branches. It flowers primarily in spring and autumn, but also at other times of year following rains, producing cream colored, ball-shaped flowers. Curved or twisted, brown to reddish brown pods 6 - 9 inches long, split to release smooth brown seeds when mature.

Both trees should find wide use in deserts landscape wherever lush, evergreen, thornless trees are needed. They can be used to compliment deciduous trees and shrubs in winter months, as patio trees, in courtyards, or to provide shelter and shade for under-story plantings.