''Acacia baileyana'' or Cootamundra wattle is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

in the

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

. The scientific name of the species honours the

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Frederick Manson Bailey Frederick Manson Bailey (8 March 1827 – 25 June 1915) was a botanist active in Australia, who made valuable contributions to the characterisation of the flora of Queensland. He was known by his middle name, Manson. Early life Bailey was bo ...

. It is

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

to a very small area in southern inland New South Wales, comprising Temora, Cootamundra, Stockinbingal and Bethungra districts. However, it has been widely planted in other Australian states and territories. In many areas of Victoria, it has become

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

and is regarded as a

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

, outcompeting indigenous Victorian species. Almost all wattles have cream to golden flowers. The small flowers are arranged in spherical to cylindrical

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s, with only the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s prominent. Wattles have been extensively introduced into

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Uses

''A. baileyana'' is used in Europe in the cut flower industry. It is also used as food for bees in the production of honey. American urban landscape designer Renée Gunter uses this plant in her South Los Angeles lawn as a drought-resistant alternative to thirstier plants. Less than 0.02%

alkaloids Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar st ...

were found in a chemical analysis of ''Acacia baileyana.''

Cultivation

This plant is adaptable and easy to grow. It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. Unfortunately, it has an ability to naturalise (i.e. escape) into surrounding

bushland In Australia, bushland is a blanket term for land which supports remnant vegetation or land which is disturbed but still retains a predominance of the original floristics and structure. Human survival in bushland has a whole mythology evolving ...

. Also, it hybridises with some other wattles, notably the rare and endangered Sydney Basin species ''

Acacia pubescens ''Acacia pubescens'', also known as the downy wattle, is a species of wattle found in the Sydney Basin in eastern New South Wales. The downy wattle is classified as vulnerable; much of its habitat has vanished with the growth of the city of Sydn ...

''. A prostrate weeping form is in cultivation. Its origin is unknown, but it is a popular garden plant, with its cascading horizontal branches good for rockeries. The fine foliage of the original Cootamundra wattle is grey-green, but a blue-purple foliaged form, known as 'Purpurea' is very popular.

Use of colour

The colour Cootamundra wattle is used currently by the

Australian Capital Territory Fire Brigade The ACT Fire and Rescue (previously known as ACT Fire Brigade) is the urban fire and rescue service for the Australian Capital Territory. It along with the ACT Ambulance Service, ACT State Emergency Service and ACT Rural Fire Service are part of ...

as their colour scheme for firefighting appliances.

Gallery

image:Cootamundra leaves and blossom.jpg, Leaf and blossom image:Cootamundra wattle leaves 2.jpg, Fine detail of leaf image:Cootamundra wattle leaves.jpg, Leaf with fingers for scale Image:Acacia baileyana seeds.jpg, ''A. baileyana'' seeds Image:Acacia baileyana prostrate IGP email.jpg, ''A. baileyana'' prostrate form in cultivation, Illawarra Grevillea Park, Bulli, NSW image:Acacia baileyana Los Angeles.jpg, Street tree, Los Angeles, CA

References

Cited text

External links

''Acacia baileyana''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9562555 baileyana Fabales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Garden plants of Australia Shrubs Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Plants described in 1888