Gold star for Brisbane

After a vote by the citizens of Brisbane, the results are in – the Queensland capital’s new floral emblem is the Brisbane golden wattle, aka the fringed wattle (Acacia fimbriata), a tough, drought-resistant native species that flourishes all the way from Melbourne to the tropical north. A list of 900 indigenous plants was whittled down to four finalists, including the dwarf silky oak (Grevillea banksii), the Brisbane or Moreton Bay lily (Proiphys cunninghamii) and the firewheel tree (Stenocarpus sinuatus). Now, the wattle’s glorious sunshine-yellow flowers will sit in pride of place alongside the city’s current floral emblem, the Mexican red poinsettia, as Brisbane gears up for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. brisbane.qld.gov.au

Text by Sally Feldman
Photo by iStock