The very widespread A. ligulata has only two mistletoes recorded from it in the State Herbarium. Amyema preissii, wire-leaved mistletoe is the most common. There are a few records of Lysiana exocarpi, harlequin mistletoe.
A. ligulata is a food plant for the larvae of the butterfly Nacaduba biocellata, Fisher (1978).
Descriptions and illustrations of the life cycles of the cossid moths, whose larvae provide witchetty grubs, is given by Tindale (1953). The principal Acacia hosts are A. ligulata and A. kempeana, the larvae living on or in the roots of the shrubs.
Isaacs (1987) and Cane (1989) report that A. ligulata is of 'moderate' importance to the Aborigines of the Western Desert as a source of seeds. It is a widespread species and the relative ease with which grinding stones can be found in sand hills with stands of the Acacia would indicate that it was used throughout its distribution. However Maslin et al. (1998) do not include it in their list of 47 species with potential for development as a food source.
Basedow (1925) describes the use by the Aborigines of ash from A. ligulata to mix with both Duboisia and Nicotiana when these two are chewed. The addition of an alkaline ash to enhance the extraction of alkaloids has developed in several countries e.g. use with betel nut in South East Asia and with tobacco in South America.
Yen (1989) considers the wood ash of A. ligulata was the favoured masticatory addition to 'pituri' (Duboisia) before chewing by the Aborigines of arid Australia.
Barr et al. (1988) and Latz (1995) report that the foliage of A. ligulata is used by the Aborigines for smoking treatments to relieve aches and pains.
Some of the problems in the taxonomy of A. ligulata are discussed by Pedley (1977).
For some time A. maxwellii, a Western Australian species, was sold in South Australian nurseries as A. ligulata (prostrate form). An illustration of both species is given and the critical characters used to separate them are listed (Whibley (1986). Both species are useful in cultivation.
A. ligulata is probably the most widespread woody shrub in South Australia.
A more recent paper by Chapman & Maslin (1991) reviews the A. bivenosa group to which A. ligulata belongs. The authors conclude that this very widespread and variable group can be divided effectively into a dozen species of which A. ligulata, A. cupularis and A. salicina occur in S.Aust. As a consequence A. cupularis is added to the flora of S.Aust. It was previously recognised as a narrow-leaved, substantially coastal form of A. ligulata. Most of the other species are restricted to Western Australia.