ACACIA PYCNANTHA

common names: golden wattle
type collected:

habit: shrub to small tree, 4 - 8m.

foliage: lancelote to sickle shaped phyllodes 60 - 200mm x 10 - 50mm, leathery smooth with single main vein, prominent margins with gland near the base and sometimes a second above the centre of upper margin, apex acute to obtuse.

flowers: Large fragrant golden-yellow ball flowers, prolific flowering under suitable conditions, flowers spring.

pods: Straight thin, 50 - 120mm x 5 - 7mm, flat but raised over seeds, margins constricted between seeds.

seeds: longitudinal in pod, short aril

distribution: Widespread in Vic and ajoining areas of SA and NSW, in eucalypt forest and open woodlands, widely cultivated in this area and elsewhere, though was widely sourced for bark in some areas so is no longer so common there.

notes: Formally recognised as Australia's national floral emblem in 1988, though had been unofficial since the about the turn of the century. Very high tannin content, thousands of tons of the bark of acacia pycnantha was exported for the tanning industry in the late 1800's to the 1920's. Well known and relatively widely cultivated. (references: 2, 20)