COASTAL UMBRELLA BUSH

(Acacia cupularis)

(Photos:C. Schultz, habitat, phyllodes;  https://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/phtml?pc=dig&pn=849. flowers)

This little wattle should be flowering shortly; look for it from July into early summer. Although it can grow to about 2m, don’t expect it to be more than 75cm high at Cape Jervis, even though it likes sandy soils and limestone! It is a rounded shrub with an open growth habit. Older branches are grey, younger ones more reddish-brown. The phyllodes (foliage, not true leaves) are about 7cm long and very thin (4mm wide) with a central tip. There is a central rib, and if you look carefully, you might see 2 or 3 small glands on the edges. It takes about 20 little golden flowers to form a flower ball, with 2 or 3 balls grouped together on short stalks. Long, thin brown seed pods follow the flowers in summer. The seeds inside are small at 3-5mm. The pods look ‘nipped in’ between the seeds, and break open readily at these points.