Coastal wattle vs Moon Trefoil

Acacia cyclops compared with Medicago arborea

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coastal wattle	Moon Trefoil
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family same	Fabaceae	Fabaceae
Genus	Acacia	Medicago
Species	Acacia cyclops	Medicago arborea

Evolutionary Relationship

Coastal wattle and Moon Trefoil share a common ancestor at the Family level: Fabaceae.

Conservation Status

Coastal wattle

LC — Least Concern

Moon Trefoil

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coastal wattle	Moon Trefoil
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coastal wattle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 8 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (13 countries), Asia (Israel), Europe (4 countries), and North America (United States).

Moon Trefoil

Habitat

Inhabits montane grasslands and shrublands and Mediterranean forests and woodlands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Morocco), Europe (8 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Chile).

Coastal wattle

Coastal wattle (Acacia cyclops) is a dense, fast-growing shrub in the family Fabaceae, native to the southwestern and southern coastal regions of Western Australia, from Shark Bay south to the Nullarbor Plain. It grows on coastal dunes, sandy scrubland, and limestone substrates near the sea, where it tolerates salt spray, wind, and summer drought. Coastal wattle produces distinctive circular seeds with bright red arillate coatings, making them highly attractive to birds. Although valued in its native range for coastal stabilisation and revegetation, the species has become highly invasive in southern Africa, particularly South Africa, where it was introduced for dune stabilisation in the 19th century and has since spread extensively across the Cape Floristic Region, displacing native fynbos vegetation. It is listed among the 100 worst invasive species globally by the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group. In Australia, it is assessed as Least Concern. Management of invasive populations in South Africa involves mechanical removal and biological control efforts aimed at protecting the critically threatened fynbos biome.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇲🇹 Malta 🇲🇦 Morocco 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇪🇸 Spain