A bloomin’ beautiful August

There are over 1000 species of Acacias in the world, and although they are not entirely endemic to Australia, we do have the lion’s share, and Acacias, or wattles as they are more commonly known, have a special place in the hearts of most Aussies. With the Paris Olympic Games of 2024 being held just recently, and the green and gold being front and foremost in our minds, it seemed like a good opportunity to get out into Wellsford State Forest, an area of bushland that covers a vast area to the north and west of our property, to see some of the magnificent local varieties in full bloom.

As I said in my last post, the Sugarloaf Conservation Area sits directly across from our property, but it is technically just a small part of the much larger Wellsford State Forest. With a recent history of being exploited for gold, timber and eucalyptus oil production, the forest has been dramatically altered since the arrival of Europeans, but in a lot of cases the thinning out and coppicing of the eucalyptus species here has enabled other species like Acacias to proliferate. In fact, it may not be obvious to the naked eye, but in the pictures above, there are at least four different types of wattles in bloom at the one time, and in some cases there may be ten or more different species growing within walking distance of each other.

Wattles play a major role in providing habitat for Australian native wildlife. Their leaves, seeds and pollen loaded flowers are an important food for countless species of insects, many of which are in turn preyed on by insectivorous birds such as wrens, fantails and flycatchers. The bark of many species exudes a sticky sap that is a favourite of many possums and gliders. There are also a number of varieties that have fierce, spiky thorns which provide perfect cover for small birds and animals, while the taller species such as Blackwoods, Silver Wattles and Lightwoods provide a mid-storey corridor through the forest that is used by many birds, bats and tree dwelling marsupials.

Wattles were also an important food source for Australia’s First Peoples, with the seeds, flowers and sap of many species being utilised as bush tucker. They also provided tannins, medicines and timber for making utensils such as digging sticks and weapons.

While August is the peak time for most of these wattles, some of the later flowering varieties such as Gold-dust Wattle, see the wattle season extend well into spring, making Wellsford State Forest a wildflower hunter’s dream.