In flower now: the stunning Coastal Wattle
Take a walk through Puckeys Estate to see glorious coastal wattles in bloom
The Significant Other and I were taking a leisurely walk today at Puckeys Estate, getting away from it all, and absolutely loving being able to splash around in the puddles after recent rains. He'd left his camera at home and I was trying to keep my thumbs off my mobile, to facilitate connection with all the amazing plants and animals (SO included, of course). But oh oh oh my goodness, the Coastal Wattles were looking so spectacular I couldn't resist a few snaps.
Coastal Wattle (Acacia longifolia subsp. sophorae) is a common and widespread wattle of coastal eastern Australia, where it loves spreading across sand dunes and alluvial flats. It's variable in height, anywhere between 20cm right by the sea to 3m or so in more sheltered areas.
You can sometimes see it encroaching almost as far towards the sea as the Spinifex plants (Spinifex sericeus). And it produces incredible flowers anywhere between August and October; it's flowering in Illawarra right now!
Despite the bad press Coastal Wattle receives as an alleged interloper, it is absolutely a local. There are herbarium records for this species reaching back over many decades, in coastal areas between Victoria and Queensland.
If anyone is wondering about the benefits and virtues of Coastal Wattle, they are many. The seeds can be roasted and eaten, one of the many edible wattle seeds that are so much lauded these days.
According to local zoologist Garry Daly, the sap of this plant is eaten by Sugar Gliders, which cut into the trunk to obtain it. And the leaves attract the larvae of many local butterflies, including the spectacular Moonlight Jewel. What's not to like?
