Saturday, April 2, 2011

Australia's national flower -Golden Wattle

australia-national-flower








Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) is Australia's national flower. The Golden Wattle blooms in spring, - beginning September - in Australia, with large fluffy, yellow, sweet smelling flower heads. Each Golden Wattle flower head is a bunch of many tiny flowers. Acacias are popularly called Wattle.

The tiny Golden Wattle flowers have five very small petals, almost hidden by the long stamens, and are arranged in dense rounded or elongated clusters. The Golden Wattle flowers are yellow in most species, whitish in some, and are widely cultivated as ornamentals.
Golden Wattle are the most fragrant flowers and are used in making perfumes, bath herbs, and potpourris.
FLORAL EMBLEM 
The golden wattle, Acacia pycnantha Benth, was proclaimed the official national floral emblem in August 1988.