The green & gold

For many people, wattles are a comforting symbol of Australia. We admire their rapid growth, golden balls of flowers and their distinct scent, and celebrate them as our national floral emblem.

While Australians tend to admire all wattles, it’s the golden wattle (Acacia pycnantha) that, since 1988, is the floral emblem. In 1992, September 1 was formally declared Wattle Day.

It’s no surprise that wattles are so much part of the Australian identity. They are found across Australia in every environment with some 1000 or more species growing here of the 1350 known around the world.

Many wattles have adapted to specific), for example, grows in the arid inland of Australia, while blackwood () is a stately tree of cool moist areas in southern Australia.