Acacia pycnantha

(Golden Wattle)

This beautiful wattle and the equally beautiful waratah once fought it out for the privilege of being Australia’s floral emblem. In fact, the unresolved conflict meant that both flowers were included as decoration on the trowel used for the laying of foundation stones for Canberra in 1913.

Acacia pycnantha won out though, although it wasn’t actually proclaimed the National Floral Emblem until 1988. This medium shrub to small tree is an excellent garden plant, as it is reasonably drought and frost tolerant, grows in dappled shade, partial or full sun, and even withstands moderate coastal exposure.

It flowers prolifically from July to October with masses of golden yellow racemes (sprays) of characteristic Acacia ball-shaped flowers.

The leaves, which are not really leaves at all, but modified stems called phyllodes, are usually broad just above the centre, narrowing at both ends.

Because it is a widespread species, it can vary in form and characteristics. For example, phyllodes can be variable in colour – dark green in open forest and paler and duller in mallee regions. And there is a form from the Grampians in western Victoria, which has narrower and strongly curved phyllodes.

Acacia pycnantha is found naturally in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

It’s not only a lovely garden plant, though, Acacia pycnantha is also very useful for erosion control, as a windbreak, and the phyllodes are used as a dyeing material. Early settlers believed the bark (which also has excellent tanning qualities) was useful medicinally as a treatment for diarrhoea and dysentery. Aboriginal people found the sap to be a tasty food source, as do glider possums.

Weed

It might be our floral emblem, but it's not loved everywhere in Australia. It has actually become an environmental weed in Western Australia and is likely to become a problem in the New South Wales Tablelands (which is out of its range) and in Tasmania.

Propagation

Most wattles are easily propagated from seed and so is A. pycnantha. The seeds need pre-treatment though, but soaking in boiling water or by scarification (eg damaging the seedcoat a bit with sandpaper).

Sources:
Encyclopaedia of Australian Plans suitable for cultivation, by W.R. Elliot & D. Jones, Lothian Publishers.
Native Plants of Melbourne, by D. Jones & B. Jones, Bloomings Books.
http://www.anbg.gov.au/emblems/aust.emblem.html
Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants: http://asgap.org.au/a-pyc.html

Photograph by Helen Moss: Plants of Melbourne's Outer East CD-Rom

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