Golden rain wattle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Golden rain wattle |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Acacia
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| Species: |
prominens
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
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The Acacia prominens is a beautiful plant known by many names. People call it the golden rain wattle, goldenrain wattle, Gosford wattle, or grey sally. It is a type of shrub or tree that belongs to the Acacia family. You can find it growing naturally in New South Wales, Australia.
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What the Golden Rain Wattle Looks Like
The Golden Rain Wattle usually grows to be about 5 to 9 meters (16 to 30 feet) tall. Some can even reach heights of 20 to 25 meters (65 to 82 feet)! Its branches are smooth and have angles at their tips. The bark is smooth and grey.
Like many Acacia species, this plant has special leaf-like structures called phyllodes. These are not true leaves. The phyllodes are grey-green to grey-blue in color. They can be smooth or have a few hairs. They are shaped like narrow ellipses or oblongs and are mostly straight. Each phyllode is about 2.5 to 6 centimeters (1 to 2.4 inches) long and 5 to 12 millimeters (0.2 to 0.5 inches) wide. They have a clear line down the middle.
This wattle blooms between July and September. Its flowers grow in groups of 5 to 25. These groups form a cluster called a raceme where the leaves meet the stem. The flower-heads are round, like small balls, about 3 to 5 millimeters (0.1 to 0.2 inches) across. Each flower-head has 8 to 15 flowers that are lemon yellow or pale yellow.
How the Golden Rain Wattle Got Its Name
The Acacia prominens was first officially described in 1832. This was done by a botanist named Allan Cunningham. His work was later included in a book by George Don.
For a while, in 2003, it was renamed Racosperma prominens by Leslie Pedley. But in 2006, it was moved back to the Acacia family.
The name prominens comes from a special feature of the plant. It refers to a small, noticeable bump or "gland" on the edge of the phyllode. This gland is usually found about 5 to 20 millimeters (0.2 to 0.8 inches) above where the phyllode connects to the stem.
This wattle is closely related to two other types of wattle: A. kettlewelliae and A. covenyi.
Where the Golden Rain Wattle Grows
The Golden Rain Wattle is native to south-eastern Australia. You can find it in New South Wales and also in Victoria.
In New South Wales, it grows from the Hunter Valley in the north-west down to the Gosford and Sydney areas in the south-east. It often prefers damp and protected places. It grows well in loamy (sandy-clay) and clay soils. You might see it along the edges of rainforests or as part of wet sclerophyll forests.
It has also spread and now grows naturally in parts of central Victoria. This includes areas like the goldfields, the greater Grampians, the Gippsland Plain, and the northern inland slopes.
Images for kids
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Phyllodes with prominent glands on margins
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