Acacia pycnantha
The wattle in Australia are the largest genus of flowering plants. There 1380 species of acacia in the world and Australia has about 985.
Wattles are natural pioneer plants, they are the first to germinate after fire or flood. Being nitrogen fixers they help enrich the soil and provide protection for other seedlings growing underneath in a natural succession of the bush.
The word wattle comes from green sticks called 'wattles' which were used to reinforce walls made of mud and clay. The clay was then packed in between and over the top of the wattles and allowed to dry. Acacia branches are very flexible and well suited to being used as wattles, hence the name wattle became associated with acacias.
No comments:
Post a Comment