Acacia pycnantha

Acacia pycnantha, the golden wattle, is a tree. It is the national plant of Australia. The tree is in the family Fabaceae, and is native to southeastern Australia.

Golden wattle
Closeup of pendulous green phyllodes (leaves) and yellow globular flower heads
Scientific classification e
Unrecognized taxon (fix): Plantae
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Acacia
Species:
A. pycnantha
Binomial name
Acacia pycnantha
Acacia pycnanthaDistMap739.png
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms

The plant grows to 8 m (26 ft) and has flattened leaf stalks (called phyllodes) instead of true leaves. The phyllodes are sickle-shaped, between Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). long, and Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). wide.

The fragrant, golden flowers appear in late winter and spring, and then there are long seed pods. Plants are cross-pollinated by several species of honeyeater and thornbill. When birds visit nectaries, the phyllodes brush against flowers. This transfers pollen between them.

The golden wattle is an understorey plant in eucalyptus forests. It is found from southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, through Victoria and into southeastern South Australia.