BLOOMING WATTLE

Wattles are  trees and shrubs of the Acacia genus, with the Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha), shown here, serving as Australia's national floral emblem. Wattles are highly resilient, fast-growing plants that play a crucial role in land regeneration, acting as a "nurse crop" for other plants. They are a powerful symbol of Australian identity and are celebrated on National Wattle Day, September 1st.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

MT MORGAN WATTLE

Acacia podalyriifolia is a perennial tree which is fast-growing and widely cultivated. It is native to Australia but is also naturalised in Malaysia, Africa, India and South America. Its uses include environmental management and it is also used as an ornamental tree.

It is very closely related to Acacia uncifera. It grows to about 5 m in height and about the same in total width. It blooms during winter. Common names for it are Mount Morgan wattle, Queensland silver wattle, Queensland wattle, pearl acacia, pearl wattle and silver wattle.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

SWEET ACACIA

Vachellia farnesiana, also known as Acacia farnesiana, and previously Mimosa farnesiana, commonly known as sweet acacia, huisache, or needle bush, is a species of shrub or small tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. Its flowers are used in the perfume industry. The plant's young leaves, flowers, and seed pods are edible raw or cooked. The foliage is a significant source of forage in much of its range, with a protein content around 18%. The tree makes good forage for bees. The seed pods are readily eaten by livestock.

The plant is deciduous over part of its range, but evergreen in most locales. Growing from multiple trunks, it reaches a height of 4.6–9.1 metres. The bark is whitish gray. The base of each leaf is accompanied by a pair of thorns on the branch. The dark brown fruit is a seed pod. The small flowers have five very small petals, almost hidden by the long stamens, and are arranged in dense, globular or cylindrical clusters; they are yellow and highly fragrant.

The flowers are processed through distillation to produce a perfume called cassie, which has been described as "delicious". It is widely used in the perfume industry in Europe. Flowers of the plant provide the perfume essence from which the biologically important sesquiterpenoid farnesol is named. Scented ointments from cassie are made in India.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

OKIE BEAN

Dipogon lignosus, the okie bean, Cape sweet-pea, dolichos pea or mile-a-minute vine, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is the only species classified in the monotypic genus Dipogon which belongs to the subfamily Faboideae.

It is a climbing woody, herbaceous perennial which becomes woody towards the base. The soft green stems climb over nearby structures, shrubs or trees, and can grow up to 2m tall, extending a long way horizontally if possible. Its leaves are dark to medium green above, paler below and are composed of three diamond shaped leaflets which have a wide set base before tapering to a fine point. Each leaflet has its own stalk.

The flowers are typical for the pea family and are pink, mauve, magenta and purple in colour, growing on the tips of new growth stems in short, dense racemes with long peduncles. Flowering occurs throughout spring and summer, i.e. August to January in its native South Africa. The pods are flat and sickle-shaped, each containing four to six seeds, and are formed soon after flowering. In warmer climates this is an evergreen, but it may develop a deciduous habit in areas where are subject to frosts.

Dipogon lignosus has a native range that covers the Western Cape and Eastern Cape in South Africa where it prefers milder areas where it is not subjected to frost. It is an invasive weed in Australia and New Zealand and in some areas control of D. lignosus can be mandated.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

CASSIA

Cassia leptophylla, or the Gold Medallion Tree, is a semi-deciduous tree native to southern Brazil but growing well in subtropical  and warm temperate regions of the world. This tree requires well-drained soil with little threat of freezing temperatures and should be grown in direct sunlight for full flowering potential. The gold medallion tree can reach heights of 8 metres with proper pruning.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

FIRST WATTLES

The first wattles have bloomed very early (or the last very late!) this year. However, it's not surprising with the crazy weather we've been having...

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

NATIVE SARSAPARILLA

The Native Sarsaparilla Hardenbergia violacea (var. 'Happy Wanderer') is a useful climbing and creeping plant useful as a ground cover that grows prolifically in the Southern Australian Region. This vigorous, popular and generally hardy Australian native plant grows to about 1 metre high by 1 metre wide. The pea shape flowers appear in late winter and early spring and are violet in colour. It can be used as a ground cover and will climb on a support. It prefers an open sunny position. Pink and white flowering cultivars are also available.

This post is part of the  Floral Friday Fotos meme

WILLOW-LEAVED WATTLE

Acacia iteaphylla, commonly known as Flinders Range wattle, Port Lincoln wattle, winter wattle and willow-leaved wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Phyllodineae that is endemic to South Australia.

The shrub has a weeping habit and typically grows to a height of 2 to 5 metres with a crown width of 2 to 5 m. Young plants are glabrous and have greenish coloured bark that later becomes brown in colour as the plant ages. The slender grey-green foliage has pink-red tips of new growth. The long slender phyllodes are arranged alternately and have a prominent single vein running lengthwise and grow up to 10 centimetres in length.

It produces yellow flowers from March to September (Autumn through to Spring). The flowers are arranged into small spherical clusters that are found in short compound clusters in the phyllode forks. The flower heads have a diameter of 5 to 8 millimetres and contain 12 to 17 pale to lemon yellow flowers. The thin leathery light brown seed pods that form following flowering are elongated and flat usually 5 to 13 centimetres in length and 6 to 12 mm wide. The pods contain hard black ellipsoidal shaped seeds that are 6 mm in length and half as wide.

The shrub is sold commercially for cultivation in seedling or in seed form. It can take full sun or partial shade, can grow in saline soils and is frost tolerant and drought tolerant once established. Used in gardens as an ornamental screen or as a low windbreak, as it is fast growing and has attractive foliage. The best known cultivar of A. iteaphylla is a low-growing form called Acacia "Parsons Cascade". Seeds need to be scarified or treated with boiling water prior to planting.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

SNAIL VINE

Vigna caracalla is a leguminous vine from the family Fabaceae, originating in tropical South America and Central America. The species is named "caracalla", from the Latin for "hood or cloak", referring to the hooded shape of the open flowers. Some people suggest that this specific meaning comes from Caracas in Venezuela, but this is probably a misapprehension.

This perennial vine has fragrant flowers reminiscent of hyacinths. The buds, especially have a distinctive curled shape, giving rise to the common names "corkscrew vine", "snail vine", "snail creeper", or "snail bean". This vine is hardy in zones 9 and above, liking full sun and consistently damp soil. It prefers high heat and humidity and can become invasive if these conditions are met. In colder zones, it does well in a pot if it is overwintered inside.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SNAIL VINE

Vigna caracalla is a leguminous vine from the family Fabaceae, originating in tropical South America and Central America. The species is named "caracalla", from the Latin for "hood or cloak", referring to the hooded shape of the open flowers. Some people suggest that this specific meaning comes from Caracas in Venezuela, but this is probably a misapprehension.

This perennial vine has fragrant flowers reminiscent of hyacinths. The buds, especially have a distinctive curled shape, giving rise to the common names "corkscrew vine", "snail vine", "snail creeper", or "snail bean". This vine is hardy in zones 9 and above, liking full sun and consistently damp soil. It prefers high heat and humidity and can become invasive if these conditions are met. In colder zones, it does well in a pot if it is overwintered inside.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

WATTLE

Acacia deanei (Deane's wattle, green wattle) is a tree native to Australia, which is used for controlling erosion. There are two subspecies: Acacia deanei subsp. deanei and Acacia deanei subsp. paucijuga. Both subspecies are mainly 2-4 m tall and grow on plains, slopes and tablelands, often near watercourses, in gullies or on stony hillsides, and on a wide range of soil types in Eastern Australia.

This species often flowers throughout the year, especially during March to August; pods mature mainly during October to March or sometimes later. There are about 45 viable seeds per gram. Nicking or boiling the seeds in water for a minute at 100°C is required to induce germination. The seeds start to germinate in about 5 days if grown at 25°C. Acacia deanei is a fast growing, nitrogen-fixing shrub that has the potential to play a valuable role in catchment protection.

It is relatively drought and cold tolerant; its pollen has value in apiculture. This tree is known to be moderately drought tolerant but is killed by damaging fire and does not regenerate foliage afterwards. It tolerates frosts in the 0° to -5°C range or tolerates heavy frosts colder than -5°C. This tree has good ornamental attributes and is often used in the urban environment as a street or park tree.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

GOLDEN WATTLE

Acacia pycnantha, commonly known as the golden wattle, is a tree of the family Fabaceae native to southeastern Australia. It grows to a height of 8 m and has phyllodes (flattened leaf stalks) instead of true leaves. Sickle-shaped, these are between 9 and 15 cm long, and 1–3.5 cm wide. The profuse fragrant, golden flowers appear in late winter and spring, followed by long seed pods. Plants are cross-pollinated by several species of honeyeater and thornbill, which visit nectaries on the phyllodes and brush against flowers, transferring pollen between them. An understorey plant in eucalyptus forest, it is found from southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, through Victoria and into southeastern South Australia.

Explorer Thomas Mitchell collected the type specimen, from which George Bentham wrote the species description in 1842. No subspecies are recognised. The bark of A. pycnantha produces more tannin than any other wattle species, resulting in its commercial cultivation for production of this compound. It has been widely grown as an ornamental garden plant and for cut flower production, but has become a weed in South Africa, Tanzania, Italy, Portugal, Sardinia, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, as well as Western Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales. Acacia pycnantha was made the official floral emblem of Australia in 1988, and has been featured on the country's postal stamps.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 190 - BLACK LOCUST

Robinia pseudoacacia, commonly known as the black locust, is a tree of the genus Robinia in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States, but has been widely planted and naturalised elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe, Southern Africa, Australia and Asia and is considered an invasive species in some areas.

A less frequently used common name is false Acacia, which is a literal translation of the specific epithet. It was introduced into Britain in 1636. With a trunk up to 0.8 m diameter (exceptionally up to 52 m tall and 1.6 m diameter in very old trees), with thick, deeply furrowed blackish bark. The leaves are 10–25 cm long, pinnate with 9–19 oval leaflets, 2–5 cm long and 1.5–3 cm broad. Each leaf usually has a pair of short spines at the base, 1–2 mm long or absent on adult crown shoots, up to 2 cm long on vigorous young plants.

The intensely fragrant (reminiscent of orange blossoms) flowers are white to lavender or purple, borne in pendulous racemes 8–20 cm long, and are edible. In France and in Italy Robinia pseudoacacia flowers are eaten as beignets after being coated in batter and fried in oil.

The fruit is a legume 5–10 cm long, containing 4–10 seeds. Although the bark and leaves are toxic, various reports suggest that the seeds and the young pods of the black locust are edible. Shelled seeds are safe to harvest from summer through fall, and are edible both raw and/or boiled. Due to the small nature of Black Locust seeds, shelling them efficiently can prove tedious and difficult.

The name locust is said to have been given to Robinia by Jesuit missionaries, who fancied that this was the tree that supported St. John in the wilderness, but it is native only to North America. The locust tree of Spain (Ceratonia siliqua or Carob Tree), which is also native to Syria and the entire Mediterranean basin, is supposed to be the true locust of the New Testament.

This tree is a garden escapee and finds itself close to the waters of the Darebin Creek in the Parklands in the Melbourne suburbs. 

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 186 - PRICKLY MOSES

Acacia verticillata (prickly Moses; prickly-leaved wattle; star-leaved acacia; prickly mimosa; whorl-leaved acacia) is a perennial shrub to small tree in the Fabaceae family, native to Australia and Tasmania. The species is a common understorey shrub in both wet and dry sclerophyll forests as well as scrub and heath. In coastal environments it will often have much wider leaves as opposed to the regular needle-like nature of inland specimens.

Acacia verticillata stems are ribbed and are sparsely to densely hairy. The leaves are small sharply pointed phyllodes (false leaves) are up to 17 x 3 mm. and 1.5-2.5 mm wide. They have one prominent vein and 1-2 less prominent veins. Its inflorescences which are numerous (Southern Spring: September, October) consist of numerous pale yellow flowers arranged on short cylindrical spikes that extend beyond the leaves. Its seeds are in elongated pods (5-10 cm long) which are sparsely hairy when young and glabrous when mature. This trees dispersal is by seed. Trees are often covered by a fungally-induced galls.

On 1 September 2016, the Reserve Bank of Australia released a replacement of the polymer five dollar note which includes a stylised depiction of Acacia verticillata (subspecies ovoidea).

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Weekend Green meme.

WATTLE FLOWER BUDS

Acacia, known commonly as mimosa, acacia, thorntree or wattle, is a polyphyletic genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. It was described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773 based on the African species Acacia nilotica. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not. All species are pod-bearing, with sap and leaves often bearing large amounts of tannins and condensed tannins that historically found use as pharmaceuticals and preservatives.

The genus Acacia constitutes, in its traditional circumspection, the second largest genus in Fabaceae (Astragalus being the largest), with roughly 1,300 species, about 960 of them native to Australia, with the remainder spread around the tropical to warm-temperate regions of both hemispheres, including Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and the Americas.

Most of the wattles in Melbourne are now in bud and a small number are in flower. As the flowers open, the masses of yellow puffy blossom will give the trees a festive look and brighten up our Winter days.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 177 - ERYTHRINA

Erythrina crista-galli is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae, native to Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil and Paraguay. It is widely planted as a street or garden tree in other countries, most notably in California (in the United States).

It is known by several common names within South America: ceibo, seíbo (Spanish), corticeira (Portuguese) and the more ambiguous bucaré, to name a few. In English it is often known as the Cockspur Coral Tree.

The ceibo is the national tree of Argentina, and its flower the national flower of Argentina and Uruguay. This species characteristically grows wild in gallery forest ecosystems along watercourses, as well as in swamps and wetlands. In urban settings, it is often planted in parks for its bright red flowers. The flowers are rich in nectar and are visited by insects, which usually have to crawl underneath the carina and thus pollinate the flowers. The tree's fruit is a legume, a dry pod a few centimetres in length derived from a single carpel and contains about 8-10 chestnut-brown bean-shaped seeds.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme

FIRST TASTE OF SUMMER

It is late Spring here in Melbourne and after much unsettled weather, unseasonal cold and rain during most of this year's Spring, today we had a wonderful summery day with fine, sunny weather, blue skies and temperature maxima in the low 30˚C range. It felt quite warm, but after the cool wet and grey weather we had been having, everybody who could get out and enjoy the sunshine did!  Here are some of the Spring flowers that I saw during my walk around the neighbourhood.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

A hybrid crimson bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus)

Dracaena marginata (dragon tree) in flower

Chinaberry tree (Melia azedarach)

Oyster plant (Acanthus mollis)

Hybrid tea roses (yellow Rosa 'Aperitif'; apricot Rosa 'Just Joey')

Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus)

A hybrid amaryllis (Hippeastrum spp) growing happily in a garden bed

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 170 - GOLDEN WATTLE

Acacia pycnantha, commonly known as the golden wattle, is a tree of the family Fabaceae native to southeastern Australia. It grows to a height of 8 m and has phyllodes (flattened leaf stalks) instead of true leaves. Sickle-shaped, these are between 9 and 15 cm long, and 1–3.5 cm wide.

The profuse fragrant, golden flowers appear in late winter and spring, followed by long seed pods. Plants are cross-pollinated by several species of honeyeater and thornbill, which visit nectaries on the phyllodes and brush against flowers, transferring pollen between them. An understorey plant in eucalyptus forest, it is found from southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, through Victoria and into southeastern South Australia.

Explorer Thomas Mitchell collected the type specimen, from which George Bentham wrote the species description in 1842. No subspecies are recognised. The bark of A. pycnantha produces more tannin than any other wattle species, resulting in its commercial cultivation for production of this compound. It has been widely grown as an ornamental garden plant and for cut flower production, but has become a weed in South Africa, Tanzania, Italy, Portugal, Sardinia, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, as well as Western Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales.

Acacia pycnantha was made the official floral emblem of Australia in 1988, and has been featured on the country's postal stamps.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

MORE WATTLES

Wattles, also called acacias, are amazing native plants. More than 850 species of wattle grow in Australia, ranging from ground covers and charming shrubs to giant trees that provide fine timber and screening. With this number of species and many cultivars there is a wattle for just about any garden in Australia.

Most wattles are quick growing, short-lived plants that will usually last for about seven to 12 years. Some species, however, are longer lived. If planted in a thicket, they will self-sow, which will mean that short lived plants are quickly replaced. Wattles are tolerant of a broad range of conditions.

While there are wattle species which flower throughout the year, the winter-flowering species are particularly attractive in the landscape, where their bright yellow or cream flowers bring colour to the garden at a time when many of the more traditionally grown plants are bare or not flowering. Currently, in the Melbourne early Spring, the gold of the wattle flowering is beautiful in the green, wet landscape.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.