Help identifying a common tree in Mawson Lakes, Adelaide and other suburbs

[PomInAdelaide]

Hi everyone,
I live in Adelaide and I would love to find out what tree (?) I keep seeing around the place. Lots of them in Mawson Lakes, and I have seen a few in suburbs like Croydon and Woodville.
They look exactly like a child's picture of a tree, perfectly round and a perfect trunk with lovely soft leaves. I think they would be idea for our rear yard where we want to screen off our neighbors gardens without growing something too tall. Looking at some of the pruning the councils seem to do they seem to be able to take quite a beating!
Any help appreciated

 

[Marck]

Hello, and welcome to the Forums.

This is a Mop Top Robinia (Robinia pseudoacacia 'Umbraculifera'). It is a densely branched sport of the Black Locust (R. pseudoacacia) native to eastern North America. This cultivar rarely flowers and some pruning may be necessary to achieve a perfectly round crown. Most cultivated specimens are grafted onto a standard trunk. The cultivar epithet is sometimes given as 'Mop Top', but 'Umbraculifera' has priority.

Umbraculifera means shadowy or shading in Latin. The same word root occurs in 'umbrella'.

 

[PomInAdelaide]

Hi Marck,

Thanks for the welcome, and of course thank you for such a speedy reply and such an in depth response.