Wattle Day
Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) (credit: World Wide Wattle)
Wattles, the common name for the Acacia genus, are one of the key species of native plants found on the Australian continent. After Eucalyptus, they are the second most common forest type covering over 8% of Australia's forested regions. So far, a vast diversity of 1,000 species of Acacia have been identified making it the nation’s largest genus of flowering plants. New species of Wattles continue being discovered.
Acacia species botanical illustration (credit: Heidi Willis/Australian Geographic)
Wattles can range in size from low-spreading shrubs to trees nearly 100 feet tall. They are well known for their masses of bright yellow and fragrant flowers. Wattles are very ancient plants, likely remnants from the flora that once existed on Gondwanaland before it split apart to become Australia, Africa, India, and Antarctica. Most species have phyllodes, flattened photosynthetic green stalks, that function like true leaves. Other species have tiny compound leaflets. All species are environmentally important and provide critical habitat for birds, pollinating insects, and small animals wherever they grow. The Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) is Australia's national floral emblem. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) has compiled a series of facts about these important, interesting, and beautiful Australian plants.
Wattles are so much a part of the Australian landscape and psyche, a special day, Wattle Day, is celebrated each year with festivals, educational programs, tree plantings, conservation projects, and other celebrations of this iconic tree. In previous decades, a Wattle Queen was crowned for the day. Wattle Day began more than a century ago and remains a fun, quirky, and important expression of that huge southern land and its people. Happy Wattle Day! WHB