COAST SILVER WATTLE (WIRILDA)

Acacia uncifolia, previously Acacia retinodes

 (Photo: E. Cousins, Cape Jervis; foliage, flower cluster.)

This acacia is a good one for attracting birds, butterflies and other insects to your garden. You can’t see this in the photos above, but the trunk of this upright tree is rough, and dark brown in colour. What you can see though are the long thin leaves, with a central vein. These leaves can be up to 20cm long, though the ones on this Cape Jervis specimen were much shorter. They are a green to grey-green colour, and contrast well with the creamy yellow flower clusters. The flowers form balls which then form in clusters along a common stalk.  Like the leaves, the following seed pods can also be long… up to 14cm! The tree produces a gum, which Indigenous peoples softened in water, then ate for relief from chest pain.