Acacia pycnantha

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Acacia pycnantha Golden Wattle.jpg


Plant Characteristics
Habit   tree

Height: 10 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 10. to 25 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 25.
Width: 15 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 15.
Lifespan: perennial
Bloom: early spring, mid spring, late spring, early winter, mid winter, late winter
Cultivation
Exposure: sun
Features: flowers, fragrance
USDA Zones: 9 to 11
Flower features: orange, yellow
Scientific Names

Fabaceae >

Acacia >

pycnantha >


Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) is Australia's floral emblem. It is a tree which flowers in late winter and spring, producing a mass of fragrant, fluffy, golden flowers.

The species grows to between 2 and 8 metres in height with generally smooth, dark brown to grey bark. The mature trees do not have true leaves but have long, sickle-shaped phyllodes. These are shiny and dark green and are between 8 and 20 cm long and 0.5 to 3.5 cm wide. The rounded inflorescences are bright yellow and occur in axillary racemes or terminal panicles in groupings of between 4 and 23. These are followed by flattish, straight or slightly curved pods which are 5 to 14 cm long and 0.5 to 0.8 cm wide.[1][2]

Golden Wattle is cultivated in Australia and was introduced to the northern hemisphere in the mid 1800s. Although it is short lived, it is widely grown for its bright yellow, fragrant flowers. The species has a degree of frost tolerance and is adaptable to a wide range of soil conditions, however it prefers good drainage. Propagation is from seed which has been pre-soaked in hot water to soften the hard seed coating.[3]


Read about Acacia pycnantha in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Acacia pycnantha,Benth. (A. petiolaris, Lehm.). Golden Wattle. Broad-leaved Wattle. A small tree with more or less pendulous branchlets: phyll. pinniveined, oblong-lanceolate to falcate-lanceolate or even broadly obovate, 2 1/2-6 in. long, 3/4-1 1/2 in. wide, 1-nerved, the nerve more or less excentric; gland 1/2-3/4 in. from base: racemes either simple or compound, large-fld., fragrant and showy, often bending the tree with its weight of bloom; 50-60 fls. in a head with peduncles 1/8in. long; sepals 5, ciliate, almost as long as petals: pods varying, 2-4 1/2 or 5 in. long, 1/4in. wide, contracted and slightly constricted between the seeds and with nerve-like margins; funicle whitish, club-shaped, not folded, half as long as seed or occasionally folded and transverse to the seed; ripe Aug. Fls. Feb., March. Maiden Wattles and Wattlebark, p. 39. R.H. 1896, p. 504 Brown, For. Flora of S. Austral.—The name "broad-leaved" is derived from its reference to the seedling lvs., which are of great size, sometimes 5 in. long and 4 in. wide. The bark contains the highest percentage of tannin of any of the species, but the tree does not attain the size of A. decurrens, and hence so great a quantity is not obtained from any one tree. It is made into perfume, exudes a good gum, and is used as a sand-binder. CH


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.


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References

External links


  1. Costermans, L. (1981). Native Trees and Shrubs of South-eastern Australia. Australia: Rigby. ISBN 072701403x. 
  2. "Acacia pycnantha". PlantNET - New South Wales Flora Online. Retrieved on 2007-08-28.
  3. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named boden