Mountain wattle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mountain wattle |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Clade: | Mimosoideae |
| Genus: | Acacia |
| Species: |
A. orites
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| Binomial name | |
| Acacia orites Pedley
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
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The Mountain Wattle (Acacia orites) is a type of shrub or small tree. It belongs to a large group of plants called Acacia, which are well-known in Australia. This plant is special because it's native to the northeastern parts of Australia.
What is the Mountain Wattle?
How Does it Look?
The Mountain Wattle can grow quite tall, sometimes reaching up to 30 m (98 ft) (about 100 feet)! Its branches have tiny, hard-to-see parts called stipules.
Instead of regular leaves, most Acacia plants, including the Mountain Wattle, have something called phyllodes. These are like flattened leaf stems that do the job of leaves. The phyllodes of the Mountain Wattle are always green. They are long and thin, shaped like a line, and can be straight or slightly curved like a sickle. They usually measure between 10 to 20 cm (3.9 to 7.9 in) long and 4 to 9 mm (0.16 to 0.35 in) wide.
These dark green phyllodes are thin and can bend easily. They have a pointed tip that sometimes hooks slightly. If you look closely, you might see six to nine small lines, or veins, on them. A few of these veins are much clearer than the others. The Mountain Wattle produces beautiful golden flowers. These flowers usually appear between August and September.
Where Does it Grow?
The Mountain Wattle is a plant that is endemic to a specific area. This means it only grows naturally in certain places. You can find it in the southeastern parts of Queensland and the northeastern parts of New South Wales. It often grows along the edges of rainforests in these regions.
