Golden glow

There’s so much to love about wattles that they have their own day – the first day of spring. And rightfully so. With 1200-plus species, wattles are our most ubiquitous native genus.

Wattles are evergreen and most flower from winter to spring, but some colour the landscape in summer or autumn. They are fast growing and while many live for only 10 to 20 years, others exist for centuries. They’re important habitat plants, attracting birds and insects year-round. The foliage of about 100 species is the preferred food for various butterfly caterpillars. These are known as ‘host’ plants.

With so many wattle trees to choose from, you can make the decision a bit easier by selecting a local species. Your council may have a list. Here are a couple worth considering.

Umbrella bush (A. ligulata)
A rounded shrub or small tree with a dense habit, umbrella bush (above) is frost and drought tolerant and is found all over the mainland. With its globular, bright flowers that bloom from August to October, it makes a pretty windbreak or screening plant that’s also suitable for erosion control on embankments. Umbrella bush’s bark is used medicinally by Indigenous Australians. The seeds are a favourite food for many birds, including the Australian ringneck parrot, and the arils (seed coverings) are rich in carotenoids, which can affect the colouring of the birds’ plumage. It’s a suitable option for subtropical, arid, warm temperate and cold temperate climates, and it grows 2–5m high and 4–7m wide.

Northern black or ear-pod wattle (A. auriculiformis)
This tree thrives where summers are hot and wet, growing naturally near swamps and watercourses in well-drained soil. A spreading, dense crown makes it a useful shade tree. From April to July, canary yellow, fragrant flowers develop along cylindrical spikes that hang down and contrast with the foliage. Curled and crinkled pods turn leathery and brown, splitting to reveal seeds that were used by local Indigenous groups as an analgesic and as a poison to catch fish. It’s a suitable option for tropical and subtropical climates, and it grows 10–20m high and 5–10m wide.

Header image by Alamy