Wattle wonderful time!

A spectacular display of Acacia, commonly known as wattle, is in full bloom across both of Victoria’s Botanic Gardens and will continue through to the end of spring. At Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, around 87 species are flourishing, while Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne boasts 92 species in bloom. Among the highlights are unique and rare varieties, including the striking Acacia leprosa ‘Scarlet Blaze’. It’s a seasonal spectacle not to be missed.

Wondrous wattles

National Wattle Day is a celebration of Australia’s national floral emblem,  the golden wattle (Acacia Pycnantha, pictured above). Acacia is Australia’s largest genus of flowering plants, with 1000 species found across the continent, and is also native to Oceania, and Madagascar. There are many different types – including groundcovers, shrubs and trees – and they’re an important food source for insects, birds, mammals and even reptiles.

Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne

Location: Temple of the Winds and steps down through the Grey Garden

• Above, left: Leafless rock wattle (Acacia aphylla) is declared vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPCB). It lacks phyllodes and occurs east of Perth in Western Australia.
• Above, right: Acacia cardiophylla.
• Below, left: Cootamundra wattle (Acacia baileyana ‘Prostrata’).
• Below, right: The leaves of flat wattle (Acacia glaucoptera) are actually cladodes, which the flowers emerge from.

Location: the fence line along Anderson Street

• Below left: Snowy River wattle (Acacia boormanii) is declared endangered under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (FFG).
• Below right: Mallee wattle (Acacia montana).

Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne

Location: Future Garden

• Acacia leprosa ‘Scarlet Blaze’. This unusual cultivar was found in 1995 deep in the Black Range State Park. Like virtually all species of wattle, Acacia leprosa usually flowers in yellow, so, when bushwalkers stumbled upon a bright red specimen, they took cuttings and passed them on to Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. There, botanists worked with the nursery team to conserve the spectacular cultivar by propagating new plants from the original cuttings. You can also spot this cultivar at Melbourne Gardens near the Visitor Centre and main entrance gate.

Location: On the path near the Visitor Centre and Red Sand Garden

• Below, left: Mudgee wattle (Acacia spectabilis) is found in NSW and Queensland. Bright and spectacular, it lives up to the ‘spectabilis’ in its name.

Location: Ironbark Garden

• Above, right: bent-leaf wattle (Acacia flexifolia) is an early flowering small Acacia that grows to 1.5m tall. It occurs in north central Victoria and is endangered.