''Acacia'' 'Scarlet Blaze' is a

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

of '' Acacia leprosa'' (cinnamon wattle) originating from Victoria in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is noted for its unusual red flowers.

Description

It is a small tree or large shrub, growing to 5 metres high and 3 metres wide. In common with all forms of Cinnamon Wattle, the leaves of the cultivar release a

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

-like scent from its foliage, particularly in hot weather. Red flowers appear in globular flower heads from late winter to early spring. The red flowers are rare in the genus ''Acacia sensu lato'' where flower colour usually ranges from cream to yellow to gold. There are other red-flowered species including '' Acacia pervillei'' and '' Acacia sakalava'' from

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and '' Acacia reniformis'' from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, however with the ongoing reorganisation of ''Acacia'', most non-Australian species are in the process of being assigned to other genera.

Discovery and introduction to cultivation

The original plant was first sighted in 1995 by a group of

bushwalker Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

s in the Black Range State Forest, north-east of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. It was a single red-flowering plant growing among the usual yellow flowered forms of the large

phyllode Phyllodes are modified petioles or leaf stems, which are leaf-like in appearance and function. In some plants, these become flattened and widened, while the leaf itself becomes reduced or vanishes altogether. Thus the phyllode comes to serve the ...

variant of ''Acacia leprosa'' (''Acacia leprosa'' var. ''uninervia'') that was described as "8 feet tall and spreading". The plant was propagated from cuttings by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. Of these, three survived from which all currently grown plants are derived. In 1998 an application for plant breeders rights was made by

Bill Molyneux William Mitchell Molyneux (born 1935) is an Australian horticulturist and author who has researched and developed many popular cultivars of Australian plants, including Banksia 'Birthday Candles', and Isopogon 'Woorikee 2000'. '' Grevillea mo ...

on behalf of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne which was granted in 2003. The sole original plant has since died. The cultivar was released by Plant Growers Australia in

Park Orchards Park Orchards is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 23 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Manningham and Maroondah local government areas. Park Orchards recorded a population of 3 ...

in August 2001 in time for the plant to become Victoria's Centenary of

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

floral emblem.

Cultivation

'Scarlet Blaze' prefers moist, well drained soils but has been found to be drought tolerant. Flowering and growth are promoted by a position in full sun, but some shade is tolerated. As with all cultivars, 'Scarlet Blaze' must be propagated by cuttings to produce true-to-type plants. Propagation from seeds has resulted in plants with flowers with a colour that ranges from yellow to red.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acacia Leprosa 'Scarlet Blaze' Cultivars of Australian plants Garden plants of Australia leprosa 'Scarlet Blaze' Flora of Victoria (Australia)