Plant notes: Cootamunda wattle
AS ELSEWHERE, August is acacia flowering month where I live on Tasmania’s southeast coast. The neighbourhood becomes a sea of yellow as acacias of different kinds burst into bright yellow flower.
Cootamundra wattle is one of these. I encounter a couple specimens in the sandy soil of the foreshore track, and they appear in backyards as well. The tree is not on this state’s list of weedy species, however I recall from my bush regeneration days that the tree is not regarded favourably everywhere.
Do you make use of cootamundra wattle? How do you do that?
Common name
Cootamundra wattle
Botanic name
Acacia baileyana
Centre of diversity
Indigenous to a small area in southeastern NSW around the town of Cootamundra (climate: warm temperate; Latitude: 34°38′27″ S; Longitude: 148°01′42″ E; 332m above sea level).
Natural habitat
- open forest
- dry tolerant.
Growth form
- evergreen tree to medium height with broad canopy
- small, round, bright yellow flowers arranged as clusters on stems (inflouresences)
- small, green-grey leaves.
Uses
- cut vegetation can be spread on gardens as a nitrogenous mulch or composted
- bee fodder
- as a windbreak species
- used in the European cut flower industry.
Useful part
Flowers provide bee fodder for the honey industry.
Reproduction
Seed.
Notes
Acacia baileyana has been planted widely in Australia and is now naturalised in many regions (ie. it can reproduce in regions other than its centre of diversity).
Capable of reproducing through self-seeding in a range of environments, Acacia bileyana is a spontaneous plant in many regions.
Caution
The tree is classified as a weed in some regions because it can outcompete indigenous species. Check the tree’s status on your state agricutlure department website before planting.
Plants in permaculture design
Using biological resources to fullfill the needs of people and of natural systems is one of permaculture’s design principles. Bill Mollison, one of the originators of the design system, described this as working with, not against, nature.
Everything gardens, Bill wrote, a way of saying that living things alter their environments to suit their needs. In permaculture design, we select plant species that supply our needs while meeting the needs of natural systems.
When selecting species for use in design, consider:
- plant suitability for your climate
- how the plants would benefit people and their environments
- multiple roles for plants — food, windbreak, habitat, fuelwood, environmental modification, psychological values, aesthetics etc
- where to best locate the plant in a planting plan
- any cautions such as toxicity, irritability, potenial for spread in ecosystems.
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Comments made on social media after publishing the Cootamundra wattle story:
- There are so many acacias all across Australia, why not, whenever possible, choose a local variety? We have plenty of cootamundras everywhere already.
- (Not Cootamundra wattle specific)
All acacias are beautiful. Many are fast-growing, shorter-lived pioneer species whose role is to prepare the soil for the next plants in succession.
The two acacia volunteers out the front of my new house, including a Cootamundra, have shaded the other edible species that I intentionally planted underneath and protected them during the horrific 2019/2020 Summer in NSW.
The birds, particularly parrots, also use mine as shade, habitat and feed trees. The smaller kids have also climbed them.
Visually, the yellow yells sunshine and happiness to me.
As it is bad luck to bring cut branches inside (First Nations superstition), I’ll just keep enjoying mine.
- I recall the specific example was that it was invasive in table drains in NSW. I haven’t heard of other examples. So basically they were saying it was a problem in certain types of large scale agricultural practises. These practises have nothing to do with permaculture or the home garden. Even then the wattles may not present a problem to table drains in other states due to the different climate.
- This plant makes good small windbreaks when planted in rows . A brilliant small-bird hide/habitats plant.
- Bees love it. Seed is bush tucker. It’s a legume. Is bushcare even natural?
- As a nitrogen fixing woody legume I would plant it wherever i could especially as a companion plant and harvest for biomass, firewood and/or fodder at year 3 and 5 until more desirable plants had grown through and beyond it and it’s function as pioneer was fulfilled. My bees love it!
More plant notes in Permaculture Journal…
